Interactions of Soil and Vegetation Determine Habitat for Southeastern Pocket Gopher (Geomys pinetis)

IF 0.6 4区 环境科学与生态学 Q4 Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Mary E. Bennett, Robert A. Gitzen, L. Conner, Mark D Smith, Eric C. Soehren, S. Castleberry
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引用次数: 6

Abstract

Abstract. Pocket gophers (Geomyidae) require soils amenable to burrowing and vegetation communities that provide adequate foods. We examined the interplay of soil texture and vegetation structure in determining site occupancy of the southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis), a species of conservation concern throughout its range. Using a case-control sampling design, we compared vegetation structure and soil texture between occupied and unoccupied sites in southeastern Alabama. All occupied sites had soil clay content ≤8.05% at 0–20 cm depth. In logistic regression modeling, clay content had overwhelming support as the most important single habitat variable distinguishing occupied from unoccupied sites. Based on soil results, we focused our examination of vegetation structure on the subset of our sites with <10% clay at 0–20 cm depth. Relative odds of occupancy were highest at intermediate levels of canopy cover; however, canopy cover at occupied sites ranged widely. Compared to unoccupied sites, occupied sites contained less midstory cover and greater ground cover of graminoids and shrubs. Our results demonstrate that although vegetation structure is important in determining site suitability, soil texture may be an overriding constraint limiting potential habitat for this species. Conservation actions for southeastern pocket gophers such as habitat restoration and population translocations should ensure that target sites have suitable low-clay soils.
土壤与植被的相互作用决定东南口袋地鼠的生境
摘要袋地鼠(地鼠科)需要适合挖洞的土壤和提供充足食物的植被群落。我们研究了土壤质地和植被结构的相互作用,以确定东南口袋地鼠(Geomys pinetis)的场地占用率,这是一种在其整个范围内都受到保护的物种。采用病例对照抽样设计,我们比较了阿拉巴马州东南部被占用和未被占用地区的植被结构和土壤质地。所有被占用的场地在0–20 cm深度处的土壤粘土含量≤8.05%。在逻辑回归模型中,粘土含量作为区分占用和未占用场地的最重要的单一栖息地变量得到了压倒性的支持。根据土壤结果,我们将植被结构的检查重点放在0~20厘米深度粘土含量<10%的场地子集上。在树冠覆盖的中等水平上,相对占有率最高;然而,被占用场地的树冠覆盖范围很广。与未占用的场地相比,被占用的场地中禾本科和灌木的中层覆盖较少,地面覆盖较多。我们的研究结果表明,尽管植被结构在决定场地适宜性方面很重要,但土壤质地可能是限制该物种潜在栖息地的主要制约因素。东南部口袋地鼠的保护行动,如栖息地恢复和种群迁移,应确保目标地点拥有合适的低粘土。
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来源期刊
American Midland Naturalist
American Midland Naturalist 环境科学-生态学
CiteScore
1.20
自引率
0.00%
发文量
38
审稿时长
18-36 weeks
期刊介绍: The American Midland Naturalist has been published for 90 years by the University of Notre Dame. The connotations of Midland and Naturalist have broadened and its geographic coverage now includes North America with occasional articles from other continents. The old image of naturalist has changed and the journal publishes what Charles Elton aptly termed "scientific natural history" including field and experimental biology. Its significance and breadth of coverage are evident in that the American Midland Naturalist is among the most frequently cited journals in publications on ecology, mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology, ichthyology, parasitology, aquatic and invertebrate biology and other biological disciplines.
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