Human activities modulate reciprocal effects of a subterranean ecological engineer rodent, Tachyoryctes macrocephalus, on Afroalpine vegetation cover

Human activities, directly and indirectly, impact ecological engineering activities of subterranean rodents. As engineering activities of burrowing rodents are affected by, and reciprocally affect vegetation cover via feeding, burrowing and mound building, human influence such as settlements and livestock grazing, could have cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as bioturbation. However, there is limited understanding of the relationship between human activities and burrowing rodents. The aim of this study was therefore to understand how human activities influence the ecological engineering activity of the giant root-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus), a subterranean rodent species endemic to the Afroalpine ecosystem of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. We collected data on human impact, burrowing activity and vegetation during February and March of 2021. Using path analysis, we tested (1) direct effects of human settlement on the patterns of livestock grazing inten..., This file contains data collected at 216 sample plots established along 36, 1.5km long transects in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. Users are free to reuse for scientific purposes., File name: GRRData.csv
All variables used in the analysis stored in the file are defined as follows:site: 6 sites where data were collectedtransect: 36 transects where plots were establishedplot: sample plotssettype: settlement type (permanent vs seasonal)distance: distance of a sample plot from a settlement areadung: number of livestock dung counted within 25 x 25m plotfreshholes: number of giant root-rat fresh burrows counted within 25x25m plotS: plant species richness recorded within a plotvegcvrall: vegetation cover within a plot