Soil characteristics at artificial salt licks and their potential impacts on occurrence of chronic wasting disease

IF 2.7 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY
Ecosphere Pub Date : 2025-03-23 DOI:10.1002/ecs2.70221
Line Tau Strand, Vegard Martinsen, Kjersti Selstad Utaaker, Marie Davey, Geir Rune Rauset, Olav Strand, Judd Aiken, Alsu Kuznetsova, Bjørnar Ytrehus
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Abstract

Salt lick sites, where artificial salt blocks are placed at permanent locations, are common in summer grazing areas for free-ranging sheep in Norwegian mountains. These areas often overlap with areas used by wild reindeer, and reindeer are frequently observed at these salt lick sites. The first cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) were discovered among Norwegian wild reindeer in 2016, and salt lick sites were presumed to be hotspots for the transmission of CWD. In this study, we compare soil properties at salt lick and nearby control sites not affected by salt blocks and review how salt-induced changes may influence the persistence and transmission of CWD. Three wild reindeer areas were studied: one CWD-affected area, Nordfjella, and two areas without CWD, Knutshø and Forollhogna. The soils at the salt lick sites were strongly influenced by dissolving salt blocks and increased animal activity. The salt lick sites had higher pH and ionic strength and increased levels of sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and iodine (I), reflecting the composition of the salt blocks. The increased animal activity was reflected in eroded topsoil causing less soil organic matter (SOM), and there were higher amounts of elements related to defecation and urination, giving higher concentrations of inorganic nitrogen (Inorg-N), phosphate (PO4-P), sulfate (SO4-S), and potassium (K) as well as high gastrointestinal parasite frequency and diversity. The high salt content in the salt lick soils may stimulate geophagy, and as the soil is heavily contaminated by animal excretions, this may facilitate prion transmission. In addition, the high pH and ionic strength in the salt lick soils increase both the cation attraction and anion diffusion toward the soil particles, thereby facilitating both persistence and transmission of CWD. There was an increase in salinity at the salt lick sites in a gradient from west to east, most likely related to the coinciding decrease in precipitation. This suggests that if the use of permanent salt lick sites is discontinued, the salt lick sites in the east will maintain their attraction for congregating animals and geophagy longer than the western sites.

Abstract Image

人工盐渍地土壤特征及其对慢性消耗性疾病发生的潜在影响
在挪威山区的夏季放牧区,在永久位置放置人工盐块的盐舔点很常见。这些地区经常与野生驯鹿使用的地区重叠,在这些盐渍地经常可以看到驯鹿。2016年在挪威野生驯鹿中发现了第一例慢性消耗性疾病(CWD),盐舔点被认为是CWD传播的热点。在这项研究中,我们比较了盐舔和附近未受盐块影响的控制点的土壤特性,并回顾了盐诱导的变化如何影响CWD的持续和传播。研究了三个野生驯鹿区:一个CWD疫区Nordfjella和两个无CWD疫区Knutshø和Forollhogna。盐渍点土壤受盐块溶解和动物活动增加的影响较大。盐舔点的pH值和离子强度较高,钠(Na)、氯(Cl)、钙(Ca)、镁(Mg)、锌(Zn)、锰(Mn)和碘(I)含量较高,反映了盐块的组成。动物活动的增加反映在表层土壤的侵蚀导致土壤有机质(SOM)减少,与排便和排尿有关的元素数量增加,无机氮(无机氮)、磷酸盐(PO4-P)、硫酸盐(SO4-S)和钾(K)浓度增加,胃肠道寄生虫频率和多样性增加。盐渍土的高含盐量可能会刺激食土,而由于土壤被动物排泄物严重污染,这可能会促进朊病毒的传播。此外,盐渍土的高pH值和离子强度增加了阳离子对土壤颗粒的吸引力和阴离子向土壤颗粒的扩散,从而促进了CWD的持续和传播。盐渍点的盐度呈自西向东的梯度增加,很可能与同期降水减少有关。这表明,如果停止使用永久舔盐点,东部的舔盐点将比西部的舔盐点更长久地保持对动物聚集和食土的吸引力。
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来源期刊
Ecosphere
Ecosphere ECOLOGY-
CiteScore
4.70
自引率
3.70%
发文量
378
审稿时长
15 weeks
期刊介绍: The scope of Ecosphere is as broad as the science of ecology itself. The journal welcomes submissions from all sub-disciplines of ecological science, as well as interdisciplinary studies relating to ecology. The journal''s goal is to provide a rapid-publication, online-only, open-access alternative to ESA''s other journals, while maintaining the rigorous standards of peer review for which ESA publications are renowned.
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