Impact of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) on soil properties and nitrous oxide fluxes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

This paper demonstrates the impact of an endemic fossorial animal, plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), on soil properties and N₂O flux at the Zoige Wetland. Pika burrow and control sites without disturbance by pika were selected to measure the soil water content, bulk density, soil organic matter (SOM), NH₄-N content and NO₃-N content in August 2012. N₂O fluxes were measured with static opaque chambers at these sites in June and August 2012. Pika burrowing altered soil aeration by transferring deeper soil to the surface and by constructing underground burrows, which significantly increased bulk density, and reduced soil water content, SOM and NH₄-N content at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil depth. N₂O flux had a significant correlation with bulk density, SOM and NH₄-N content. Pika burrowing significantly influenced N₂O flux by increasing N₂O flux at the control site from near zero to 0.063±0.011 mg m^-2 h^-1. Our findings described how pika burrowing influences the soil traits and significantly increases the principal greenhouse gas N₂O emission. As plateau pika was commonly considered as a pest, our findings give a novel clue to effectively manage populations of plateau pika on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the perspective of greenhouse gas emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]