TY - JOUR
T1 - Decaying woodrat (Neotoma spp.) middens increase soil resources and accelerate decomposition of contemporary litter
AU - Campos, Herman
AU - Boeing, Wiebke J.
AU - Throop, Heather L.
N1 - Funding Information:
We appreciate assistance in field and laboratory work from M. Bravo-Garza, C. Elam, and L. Duarte. W. Whitford provided valuable discussions about woodrats. Staff of the Jornada Basin LTER and the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center provided crucial support with field sites access and meteorological data. We are particularly grateful to J. Anderson for his cheerful assistance throughout the project. J. McLaren provided assistance with extractable N analyses. This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation to H.T. (NSF DEB-0953864). H.C. received support from the Southwest Natural Resource Career Track Program (USDA NIFA #2015-38422-24068). This is a New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station publication, supported by state funds and the US Hatch Act. The Jornada Basin LTER is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF DEB-1235828). This work was carried out under IACUC approval 2014–009 from New Mexico State University.
Funding Information:
We appreciate assistance in field and laboratory work from M. Bravo-Garza, C. Elam, and L. Duarte. W. Whitford provided valuable discussions about woodrats. Staff of the Jornada Basin LTER and the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center provided crucial support with field sites access and meteorological data. We are particularly grateful to J. Anderson for his cheerful assistance throughout the project. J. McLaren provided assistance with extractable N analyses. This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation to H.T. ( NSF DEB-0953864 ). H.C. received support from the Southwest Natural Resource Career Track Program ( USDA NIFA # 2015-38422-24068 ). This is a New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station publication, supported by state funds and the US Hatch Act. The Jornada Basin LTER is supported by the US National Science Foundation ( NSF DEB-1235828 ). This work was carried out under IACUC approval 2014–009 from New Mexico State University.
Funding Information:
We appreciate assistance in field and laboratory work from M. Bravo-Garza, C. Elam, and L. Duarte. W. Whitford provided valuable discussions about woodrats. Staff of the Jornada Basin LTER and the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center provided crucial support with field sites access and meteorological data. We are particularly grateful to J. Anderson for his cheerful assistance throughout the project. J. McLaren provided assistance with extractable N analyses. This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation to H.T. (NSF DEB-0953864). H.C. received support from the Southwest Natural Resource Career Track Program (USDA NIFA #2015-38422-24068). This is a New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station publication, supported by state funds and the US Hatch Act. The Jornada Basin LTER is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF DEB-1235828). This work was carried out under IACUC approval 2014?009 from New Mexico State University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Ecosystem engineers can have broad-reaching impacts when they alter biogeochemical pools and processes, thus affecting resource availability. In the Chihuahuan Desert, woodrats (Neotoma spp.) build stick nests on the soil surface within Yucca baccata patches. We assessed the impacts of these middens on the underlying soil pools. We also assessed midden impacts on litter decomposition because decomposition exerts control over soil biogeochemical pools. We specifically focused on midden activity state, selecting Yucca patches with no midden, an active midden, or a decayed midden. Soil were analyzed for organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen. To probe a mechanistic driver of soil biogeochemical pools, we measured litter mass loss of mesquite leaflets (Proposis glandulosa) and poplar wood (Populus spp.). Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen and litter decay were all enhanced in decayed midden patches. These results support observations from other species in which the environmental modifications caused by ecosystem engineers persist beyond the life of the engineer. However, in this case the impacts of ecosystem engineers on biogeochemical pools and processes were greater for engineered structures that were not being maintained than for actively maintained structures. Woodrats have long-term impacts on spatial distribution of soil resources through their persistent middens.
AB - Ecosystem engineers can have broad-reaching impacts when they alter biogeochemical pools and processes, thus affecting resource availability. In the Chihuahuan Desert, woodrats (Neotoma spp.) build stick nests on the soil surface within Yucca baccata patches. We assessed the impacts of these middens on the underlying soil pools. We also assessed midden impacts on litter decomposition because decomposition exerts control over soil biogeochemical pools. We specifically focused on midden activity state, selecting Yucca patches with no midden, an active midden, or a decayed midden. Soil were analyzed for organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen. To probe a mechanistic driver of soil biogeochemical pools, we measured litter mass loss of mesquite leaflets (Proposis glandulosa) and poplar wood (Populus spp.). Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen and litter decay were all enhanced in decayed midden patches. These results support observations from other species in which the environmental modifications caused by ecosystem engineers persist beyond the life of the engineer. However, in this case the impacts of ecosystem engineers on biogeochemical pools and processes were greater for engineered structures that were not being maintained than for actively maintained structures. Woodrats have long-term impacts on spatial distribution of soil resources through their persistent middens.
KW - Ecosystem engineering
KW - Litter decomposition
KW - Soil carbon
KW - Soil nutrients
KW - Yucca
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85069194470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85069194470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2019.104007
DO - 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2019.104007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85069194470
SN - 0140-1963
VL - 171
JO - Journal of Arid Environments
JF - Journal of Arid Environments
M1 - 104007
ER -