Interaction Between Animal Burrowing and Loess Cave Formation in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Author:

Geng Haopeng,Liu Ru,Zheng Weishan,Zhang Yunbo,Xie Rong,Guo Yu,Pan Baotian

Abstract

Although the interactions between biotic and geomorphic processes usually occur on small spatial and short temporal scales, many of the mechanisms remain to be investigated. This study provides the first direct evidence of the interaction between biotic burrowing and loess cave formation in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The study area is the Qingshui Valley in the western CLP, near Lanzhou. We surveyed the target site (with an area of ∼13,367 m2) four times from Jul 2019 to Dec 2020, using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). High resolution UAV images enabled us to determine the temporal and spatial dynamics of biotic burrowing and loess caves. The results show that loess caves tended to develop down valley below collapses, while animal burrows were preferentially located upslope away from collapses. Despite the distinct “topographic niches” for both biotic and abiotic processes, we observed an interaction between the two processes in space when tracking their temporal dynamics. Three out of seven new loess caves were in the process of formation at typical “topographic niches” of animal burrows and there was a significantly high animal burrow density around these three caves before their initiation. These results indicate that the three caves were directly initiated from animal burrows and/or developed under the influence of biotic activities. Therefore, biotic burrowing promotes the spatial heterogeneity of loess cave distribution. We also found significant decreases in animal burrow density surrounding the newly-formed loess caves after their initiation. This may reflect a risk avoidance strategy of animal burrowing, which causes animals to avoid areas of recent mass movement (i.e., collapses and new caves). The formation and expansion of loess caves can dictate the distribution of active areas of biotic disturbance. Our results demonstrate a clear interaction between biotic burrowing and loess cave formation, and they emphasize the role of biological agents as a mechanism for the formation of loess caves, which enrich the understanding of searching fingerprints of life during landscape evolution.

Funder

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

Publisher

Frontiers Media SA

Subject

General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Cited by 4 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3