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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2016, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (11): 136-148.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2015587

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Effects of livestock grazing on rodents in grassland ecosystems

SU Jun-Hu1,2,3, NAN Zhi-Biao1*, JI Wei-Hong3,4   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China;
    2.College of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem (Ministry of Education), Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    3.Gansu Agricultural University-Massey University Research Centre for Grassland Biodiversity, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    4.Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
  • Received:2016-12-31 Online:2016-11-20 Published:2016-11-20

Abstract: Knowledge of how livestock grazing affects rodents is important if a solution to the problem of maintaining grassland biodiversity while controlling degradation resulting from rodent damage is to be found. This review summarizes the research on the effect of livestock grazing on rodents in China and other countries up to 2015. Soil physical and chemical properties are changed by both livestock trampling. Changes in vegetation affect rodent food resources and their abundance as do changes in plant nutrient content and secondary defense compounds; rodent predation risk is modulated by decreased vegetation height and structural complexity. The cascading effect of these changes alters rodent microhabitat, feeding behavior, distribution, reproduction and life history traits; this results in changes in the structure of rodent populations, population dynamics and its regulation process as well as community composition structure and biotic interactions leading the community succession. Future research should focus on the effect of grazing on the coupling mechanisms of grass-livestock-rodent interactions and the effects of different grazing systems on rodents. The objective should be to identify effective rodent management techniques to achieve sustainable management of grassland ecosystem.