ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1567822
Plateau pikas lead to higher rhizome and root-derived bud densities and their contribution to total belowground bud density in alpine grasslands
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
- 3Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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Plant belowground buds are important agents for examining the effects of small semi-fossorial herbivores on plant population regeneration in perennial grasslands. In this study, we used the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) as a focally small semi-fossorial herbivore to investigate its effects on tiller, rhizome, and root-derived bud densities. The study was conducted in alpine grasslands from Gangcha County to Gonghe County in Qinghai Province, China. A paired experimental design was employed, with 20 plots established in areas with plateau pikas, and 20 plots plateau pikas established in without plateau pikas. The results indicated that total belowground, rhizome and root-derived bud densities were 49.31%, 84.68%, and 91.73% higher in the presence than in absence of plateau pikas, respectively. The contributions of rhizome and root-derived buds to total belowground buds were 8% and 3% higher in the presence than in the absence of plateau pikas, respectively, whereas the contribution of tiller buds to total belowground buds was 11% lower in presence than in absence of plateau pikas. Total belowground buds were positively correlated with soil moisture and negatively correlated with plant aboveground biomass in the absence of plateau pikas. In contrast, they were positively correlated with total soil phosphorus and rhizome biomass in the presence of plateau pikas. These results suggested that the phosphorus supplementation is an alternative way to improve plant population regeneration and facilitate alpine grassland sustainability when plateau pikas are present in alpine grasslands.
Keywords: Tiller bud, Rhizome bud, root-derived bud, total belowground bud, small semi-fossorial herbivores
Received: 26 Feb 2025; Accepted: 18 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wang, Pang and GUO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: ZHENG GANG GUO, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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