Biopedturbation by Mammals in Deserts: A Review

Whitford, Walter; Kay, Fenton

Biopedturbation is soil disturbance by organisms. The subject of this study was the role that biopedturbation plays in structuring landscapes and maintaining heterogeneity in ecosystems. In this article the authors reviewed the literature to address several questions concerning the role of pedturbations by small and intermediate size mammals on the properties and processes of arid ecosystems. The authors examined the characteristics of pedturbation by mammals and their effects on hydrological properties of soils, soil nutrients, pedogenesis (i.e. soil formation), soil erosion and deposition and on plant communities. This review documents the large variety of mammalian pedturbations that have many effects on ecosystems and landscapes. The article also examines the convergence of properties and processes of mammal pedturbations in the arid and semi-arid zones of the world. Examples are given from Africa, Australia, North and South America, the Middle East and China. In the course of the review, the authors found that relatively shallow foraging pits and digs affect ecosystem properties and processes via the materials that accumulate in the pits and not from the soil removed during excavation. When these pits are infilled, these become nutrient-rich germination sites for certain plant species. Burrow and burrow systems occupied by several generations of central-place foragers and larder-hoarders become nutrient-enriched ‘hot spots’ in the landscape as a result of accumulation of unconsumed food and deposition of feces. In order to understand biopedturbation as a process that contributes to ecosystem and landscape function, it will be necessary to design long-term studies of all types of biopedturbations.

Biopedturbation by Mammals in Deserts: A Review

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