Density‐Dependent Response of Alpine Meadows to Plateau Zokor Disturbance on the Tibetan Plateau: Nonlinear Relationship and Ecological Thresholds
- 1Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Management of Western Forest Bio‐Disaster, College of Forestry Northwest A&F University Yangling Shaanxi China
- 2Institute of Bailongjiang Forestry Science of Gansu Province Lanzhou China
Abstract
The plateau zokor ( Eospalax baileyi ) is a keystone subterranean rodent species in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, and its burrowing and foraging activities exert complex dual effects on grassland ecosystems. Quantifying the relationship between zokor bioturbation and vegetation, ground‐surface and community characteristics, and identifying the ecological management threshold are crucial for sustainable land management. This study selected 21 typical alpine meadow sites along a disturbance gradient on the eastern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. We used unmanned aerial vehicle remote‐sensing to extract new mound density as a proxy for relative disturbance intensity and integrated multiple ground‐surveyed indicators into a grassland degradation index, so as to evaluate the association between overall grassland condition and disturbance intensity and to identify the key ecological management threshold. The results showed that vegetation cover and mean height declined linearly and the proportion of bare ground increased linearly with increasing disturbance intensity; community composition exhibited an inverted U‐shaped pattern in species richness and a U‐shaped pattern in the proportion of poisonous plants, whereas aboveground biomass and the proportion of edible forage showed no significant relationship with relative disturbance intensity. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship was detected between zokor disturbance and the grassland degradation index, and we identified 166 new mounds·ha ⁻¹ as the ecological management threshold for plateau zokors; above this threshold, the tendency of grassland condition toward degradation became more pronounced, with surface denudation and deterioration of community composition emerging as the primary constraints on overall grassland condition. This study provides a quantitative basis for shifting alpine meadow management from conventional “pest control” toward threshold‐based adaptive management, and offers a reference for identifying and regulating bioturbation thresholds in other vulnerable ecosystems.
Related
- Applying ecological thresholds to inform conservation and restoration efforts for stream fishes
- Investigating the dynamic relationship between anxiety and spatial memory using autonomous ecological momentary assessment
- Sociality shapes context-dependent stress responses to anthropogenic disturbance in African elephants
- Multilayer interaction networks reveal multidimensional ecological strategies and context-dependent competition in soil actinobacteria
- Traditional Ecological Relationship Family sharing an abundant home within nature requires recurring mutual adaptation rather than the extraction of knowledge by passing visitors
BibTeX
@article{zhao2026densitydependent,
title = {{Density‐Dependent Response of Alpine Meadows to Plateau Zokor Disturbance on the Tibetan Plateau: Nonlinear Relationship and Ecological Thresholds}},
author = {Yifan Zhao and Jing Yang and Shien Ren and Dongni Guo and Jin Li and Shoushu Pang and Lufan Yang and Tongxi Zhang and Hongyu Wang and Xiaoning Nan},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74561},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74561},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Density‐Dependent Response of Alpine Meadows to Plateau Zokor Disturbance on the Tibetan Plateau: Nonlinear Relationship and Ecological Thresholds
AU - Yifan Zhao
AU - Jing Yang
AU - Shien Ren
AU - Dongni Guo
AU - Jin Li
AU - Shoushu Pang
AU - Lufan Yang
AU - Tongxi Zhang
AU - Hongyu Wang
AU - Xiaoning Nan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74561
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74561
AB - The plateau zokor ( Eospalax baileyi ) is a keystone subterranean rodent species in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, and its burrowing and foraging activities exert complex dual effects on grassland ecosystems. Quantifying the relationship between zokor bioturbation and vegetation, ground‐surface and community characteristics, and identifying the ecological management threshold are crucial for sustainable land management. This study selected 21 typical alpine meadow sites along a disturbance gradient on the eastern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. We used unmanned aerial vehicle remote‐sensing to extract new mound density as a proxy for relative disturbance intensity and integrated multiple ground‐surveyed indicators into a grassland degradation index, so as to evaluate the association between overall grassland condition and disturbance intensity and to identify the key ecological management threshold. The results showed that vegetation cover and mean height declined linearly and the proportion of bare ground increased linearly with increasing disturbance intensity; community composition exhibited an inverted U‐shaped pattern in species richness and a U‐shaped pattern in the proportion of poisonous plants, whereas aboveground biomass and the proportion of edible forage showed no significant relationship with relative disturbance intensity. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship was detected between zokor disturbance and the grassland degradation index, and we identified 166 new mounds·ha ⁻¹ as the ecological management threshold for plateau zokors; above this threshold, the tendency of grassland condition toward degradation became more pronounced, with surface denudation and deterioration of community composition emerging as the primary constraints on overall grassland condition. This study provides a quantitative basis for shifting alpine meadow management from conventional “pest control” toward threshold‐based adaptive management, and offers a reference for identifying and regulating bioturbation thresholds in other vulnerable ecosystems.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -