Control of a desert-grassland transition by a keystone rodent guild
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Authors: J. H. Brown, and E. J. Heske
Date: 1990
Journal: Science
Volume: 250
Number: 4988
Pages: 1705-1707
Summary of Methods: Twelve years after three species of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.) were removed from plots of Chihuahuan Desert shrub habitat, density of tall perennial and annual grasses had increased approximately threefold and rodent species, typical of arid grasslands, had colonized. These were just the most recent and dramatic effects in a series of changes in plants and animals caused by experimental exclusion of Dipodomys. In this ecosystem, kangaroo rats are a keystone guild: through seed predation and soil disturbance they have major effects on biological diversity and biogeochemical processes.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: desert-grassland transition, perennial grasses, annual grasses, kangaroo rats, dipodomys spp., keystone guild, rodent populations
Annotation: Grazing intensity is not specified. Season of use is not specified.
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