The Surface Footprint of Bioturbation in a Prairie Sandhill Ecosystem: Resolving the Spatial Distribution and Geochemical Implications
Date
2015-09-08
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Abstract
An important disturbance regime in the grasslands of North America is the activity of fossorial mammals, whose digging activity creates small, prolific mounds of bare sub-soil within the grassland matrix. This thesis examined these mounds in a stabilizing sand dune ecosystem in the context of their spatial extent and distribution, and their implications on soil properties. Sub-decimeter-resolution aerial imagery from a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) revealed that mounds are less spatially extensive than reported in other studies, and that the distribution of mounds is responsive to large-scale landscape features. Soil analyses revealed the mounds are essentially preserving small pockets of a dune’s pre-stabilization condition, mobilizing nearly pure sand poor in C and N but relatively rich in S to the surface, and retarding the build-up of organic matter. This suggests that mounds from fossorial mammals may play an under-recognized role in the dynamics of dune stabilization and succession.
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Environmental Sciences
Citation
LeClair, A. (2015). The Surface Footprint of Bioturbation in a Prairie Sandhill Ecosystem: Resolving the Spatial Distribution and Geochemical Implications (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28393