This study in Arizona found that the creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) flourishes over vacant banner-tailed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) mounds, but is diminishing everywhere else in a cattle exclosure established in 1958. Authors compared plants and soil properties in mounds and open areas along long-term (32 years) transects. Mounds act and persist as fertile islands of nitrogen (from seed and plant caches) and water (soil is deeper in mounds because of digging) in an otherwise eroding watershed. Since kangaroo rats avoid shrubland and prefer grasslands, the following scenario is suggested; rats established in the area, caused desertification and invasion of shrubs which "preyed" on the rat population, and yet there is a lag effect in the inevitable reduction of creosotebush, since it can still use resources near or on mounds.
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Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.