3-D soil macropore networks derived from X-ray tomography in an alpine meadow disturbed by plateau pikas in the Qinghai
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SOILS, SEC 5 • SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY • RESEARCH ARTICLE
3-D soil macropore networks derived from X-ray tomography in an alpine meadow disturbed by plateau pikas in the Qinghai Lake watershed, north-eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Xia Hu 1,2 & Xiao-Yan Li 1,2 & Zong-Chao Li 3 & Lian-You Liu 1,4 Received: 29 May 2019 / Accepted: 31 December 2019 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is one of the main native soil faunas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and plays a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem there. However, few studies have analysed the macroporosity of soils disturbed by plateau pikas in alpine meadows. The objective of this study was to examine the soil macropores in different parts of an alpine meadow in the Qinghai Lake watershed, namely, an original grassland, a new mound, an old mound, and a bald patch. Materials and methods In this investigation, soil cores were obtained from four different parts of an alpine meadow, namely, from under an original grassland, a new mound, an old mound, and a bald patch. A total of twelve soil cores (0–50 cm deep) were excavated, which included three replicates of each treatment. The soil architecture of each soil core was explored using X-ray computed tomography. Results and discussion The macroporosity decreased and then increased from the original grassland to the new mound, old mound, and bald patch. The soil macropores were most abundant up to a depth of 400 mm in the original grassland and up to a depth of 250 mm in the old mound and bald patch soils. Conclusions The macropores in the original grassland were attributed to well-developed root systems. The smaller and less continuous macropores in the new mound, old mound, and bald patch soils were mainly disturbed by plateau pikas. It was expected that water would move preferentially through the macropores in the original grassland, while surface flow would more readily occur in the new mound, old mound, and bald patch soils, thereby leading to soil erosion. Keywords Alpine meadow . CT . Mound . Plateau pika . Soil macropore
1 Introduction Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) are relatively small burrowing mammals that are commonly found on the Responsible editor: Richard K. Shaw * Xia Hu [email protected] 1
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2
School of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
3
China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, Beijing 100012, China
4
Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China (Guo et al. 2012; Yu et al. 2017). Plateau pikas are considered to be a keystone species of the alpine meadow ecosystem because of their influential role (Smith and Foggin 1999; Lai and Smith 2003). Plateau pikas cut grass roots, dig and transfer soil
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