Relationship between plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) burrow entrance densities and the density of different plant species and soil properties in alpine steppe: A case study of Shenza County

We investigated the relationship between plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) burrow entrance densities and soil physical properties, soil chemical properties, species composition and aboveground biomass (AGB) in an alpine grassland in Xianza County. The results indicated that: 1) soil physical properties (soil temperature and soil bulk density) declined as the number of pika burrow entrances increased (P < 0.05), while the number of pika burrow entrances increased as the density of Tibetia himalaica increased; and 2) as burrow entrance density increased, the concentration of soil nutrients (soil total carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic carbon, available nitrogen and available phosphorus) increased (although the correlation was not significant at P > 0.05), the diversity of plants decreased (P < 0.05), and the aboveground biomass increased (P < 0.05). Plateau pika preferred warm and dry soils, and grassland where Oxytropis glacialis was present. The increase in the number of plateau pika, up to a certain point, improves the soil nutrient status and increases the aboveground biomass of alpine grasslands.