Diversity and abundance of macro‐invertebrates on abandoned cattle kraals in a semi‐arid savanna

Abandoned cattle (Bos taurus) kraals are sources of habitat heterogeneity in dystrophic semi‐arid African savannas with a strong positive effect on soil nutrients and plant productivity. However, little is known regarding how macro‐invertebrate assemblages vary between abandoned kraals and the surrounding savanna matrix. We tested whether herbaceous biomass and basal and aerial covers and soil nutrients have an effect on aboveground and belowground macro‐invertebrate assemblages. Twelve abandoned kraals were contrasted with their paired control plots for soil characteristics, herbaceous productivity, and macro‐invertebrate assemblages in Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe. Abandoned kraals had significantly higher concentrations of soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) as well as herbaceous biomass and basal and aerial covers than control plots. Both aboveground and belowground macro‐invertebrate species richness were higher on abandoned kraals. However, only...

废弃家牛（Bos taurus）的牛栏（kraals）是贫瘠半干旱非洲稀树草原中栖息地异质性的来源，对土壤养分和植物生产力具有显著的积极影响。然而，关于废弃牛栏与周围稀树草原基质之间大型无脊椎动物群落（macro-invertebrate assemblages）的差异，目前知之甚少。我们测试了草本生物量、基部及地上覆盖度以及土壤养分是否对地上和地下大型无脊椎动物群落产生影响。在津巴布韦萨维谷保护区（Save Valley Conservancy），我们将12个废弃牛栏与其配对对照样地在土壤特征、草本生产力和大型无脊椎动物群落方面进行了对比。废弃牛栏的土壤氮（N）、磷（P）、钾（K）和钙（Ca）浓度显著高于对照样地，草本生物量、基部及地上覆盖度也更高。地上和地下大型无脊椎动物物种丰富度在废弃牛栏中均更高。不过，仅...