Ecosystem engineering by foxes is mediated by the landscape context-A case study from steppic burial mounds

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Ecosystem Dynamics
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Intensively used landscapes fragment grasslands, restricting remnants to marginal areas like kurgans.
• Kurgans, ancient burial mounds in Eurasian steppes, offer unique habitats due to their structure and undisturbed status.
• Bioturbation by burrowing mammals on kurgans significantly impacts vegetation and habitat structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of fox burrows and landscape context on kurgan habitat properties and vegetation.
• To understand how ecosystem engineers like foxes shape microhabitats within grassland remnants.

Main Methods:

• Vegetation surveys were conducted on kurgans in both cleared and complex landscapes.
• Habitat properties, including plant cover, litter, and soil moisture, were measured in plots within fox burrows and surrounding grasslands.
• A total of 120 plots across ten kurgans were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Fox burrowing significantly altered habitat conditions, reducing vegetation and litter cover while affecting soil nutrients.
• Grassland specialist species, including key grasses, colonized the disturbed microhabitats created by foxes.
• Landscape context influenced species establishment by modifying the available species pool and soil moisture.

Conclusions:

• Foxes function as ecosystem engineers on kurgans, modifying abiotic and biotic conditions through their burrowing activities.
• This engineering activity sustains disturbance-dependent grassland components and enhances local environmental heterogeneity.
• Kurgans serve as crucial refuges where bioturbation by species like foxes promotes biodiversity in fragmented ecosystems.