Ant-hill heterogeneity and grassland management

1. In many grasslands, some ants act as ecological engineers to produce long-lasting soil structures which have a considerable influence on the patterns and dynamics of plant, vertebrate and invertebrate species. They promote species richness and diversity. 2. The yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus, is the most abundant allogenic ecological engineer in grazed European grasslands, producing vegetated long-lasting mounds. Its ratio of influence to biomass is remarkably high. Grassland restoration projects frequently attempt to re-introduce grasslands on abandoned arable fields. When this ant does not colonise naturally it should be introduced. It probably limits the abundance of grasses in a similar manner to hemi-parasitic plant species. 3. Ant-hills make a distinctive contribution to grassland heterogeneity. Measurements on mounds in a single grassland over 45 years document the dynamics of the same 200+ ant-hills in volume, surface area and basal area. As the mounds aged they increase...1. 在多数草原生态系统中，部分蚂蚁以生态系统工程师（ecological engineer）的身份发挥作用，可构建持久稳定的土壤结构，对植物、脊椎动物与无脊椎动物类群的分布格局及动态变化产生显著影响，并可提升群落的物种丰富度与多样性。 2. 黄草原蚁（Lasius flavus）是欧洲放牧草原中数量最多的外源生态系统工程师（allogenic ecological engineer），可构建带有植被覆盖的持久土丘。其影响强度与生物量的比值极高。草地恢复项目通常会尝试在废弃耕地中重建草原生态系统，若该蚂蚁无法自然定殖，则需进行人工引种。该蚁或可通过与半寄生植物类似的方式，限制禾本科植物的种群丰度。 3. 蚁丘对草原生境异质性具有独特的贡献。一项针对某草原土丘的长达45年的监测研究，记录了同一区域内200余个蚁丘的体积、表面积与基部面积的动态变化。随着土丘老化，其将逐渐增大……