Rangelands worldwide have more shrubs now, and subterranean rangeland rodents show close interaction to shrubs when choosing a burrowing site. The study was conducted in Otindag Sandy Land in Inner Mongolia, China with the objective of determining the effects of slope position on spatial pattern and interaction of shrubs; how rodents choose their habitat in different slope; and shrubs and roden...

Warrens of the wild European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus are of concern in the Iberian Peninsula as a way to recover rabbit populations. However, there are no studies on the selection of sites where rabbits build their warrens. Between 1995 and 1997, in addition to warren size (number of entrances), the vegetation characteristics and the occurrence of tree roots in the ground surface occupied ...

This study addressed the question: can herbivory by a medium size herbivore, black-tail jackrabbits (Lepus californicus), change dominance in desertified ecosystems dominated by two species of shrubs. Shrubs that were pruned by jackrabbits in plant communities dominated by creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) and tarbush (Flourensia cernua) were compared to shrubs not browsed by the rabbits. In the...

Some experiments indicate the ability of coccinellids to significantly suppress aphid abundance. Exclusion of predators by caging aphid-infested plants has repeatedly resulted in higher aphid populations and greater aphid population growth rates. However, aphidophagous coccinellids have never proved effective in controlling aphid populations in the field. To resolve this apparent contradiction,...

Some experiments indicate the ability of coccinellids to significantly suppress aphid abundance. Exclusion of predators by caging aphid-infested plants has repeatedly resulted in higher aphid populations and greater aphid population growth rates. However, aphidophagous coccinellids have never proved effective in controlling aphid populations in the field. To resolve this apparent contradiction,...

Moss crusts play important roles in biological soil crusts biomass and soil surface stabilization. However, because of increasingly intensive human activities, especially grazing, the growth and survival of shrubs are seriously threatened. This study aimed to test whether the presence of shrubs affects the physiological state of the bryophyte Syntrichia caninervis Mitt. in this desert ecosystem...

Potential distributions of endemic relic shrubs in western Ordos were poorly mapped, which hindered our implementation of proper conservation. Here we investigated the applicability of ecological niche modeling for endangered relic shrubs to detect areas of priority for biodiversity conservation and analyze differences in ecological niche spaces used by relic shrubs. We applied ordination and n...

Livestock overgrazing can threaten the ecological integrity of rangelands, and can also threaten the sustainability of pastoralist societies who depend on rangelands for their livelihood. Using facilitator plants in the restoration of degraded semi-arid rangelands offers a promising strategy because in such environments, facilitators can ameliorate harsh conditions that often limit the establis...