Role of Rhombomys opimus in the development of "fertile island" in tamarisk mounds in Junggar Basin
Shrub "fertile island" is created and maintained by a combination of physically and biologically mediated processes. Plants are the key factor affecting the formation of " fertile island" , while the activities of burrowing animals can affect the soil physical and chemical properties, which promotes the development of the "fertile island". In this paper, tamarisk ( Tamarix spp. ) , a dominant shrub species growing in oasis-desert ecotone, and great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) , a widely distributed rodent in Central Asia, were taken as study objects to investigate the "fertile island" effect of R. opimus in tamarisk mounds in Junggar Basin. In the tamarisk mounds without the settlement of R, opimus, "fertile island" effect existed, but the soil nutrients contents had no significant increase. After the settlement of R. opimus, the tamarisk mounds showed obvious "fertile island" effect, with significantly higher soil nutrients contents than the inter-mound areas. The burrowing activities of R. opimus promoted the enrichment of nutrients in 15-50 cm soil layer, and the content of soil available nitrogen in the tamarisk mounds with R. opimus burrows was over 2 times higher than that in the mounds without R. opimus burrows at the same depths. Our study indicated that the burrowing activities of R. opimus promoted the development of "fertile island" in the tamarisk mounds.
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
维普
