Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing
Ecosystem engineers are a critical driver of material cycling and energy flow in degraded or damaged ecosystems, and they are considered to be keystone species for ecological restoration. Despite their importance, there are relatively few studies that quantify the roles of ecosystem engineers during...
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000174 |
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| author | Song Sun Sheng Zhang Fei Wu Yuanwen Kuang Yaqian Zhang Hongliang Dou Haiyang Gao Ying Wang Jinzhen Yang Jingxin Wang Yan Hua |
| author_facet | Song Sun Sheng Zhang Fei Wu Yuanwen Kuang Yaqian Zhang Hongliang Dou Haiyang Gao Ying Wang Jinzhen Yang Jingxin Wang Yan Hua |
| author_sort | Song Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecosystem engineers are a critical driver of material cycling and energy flow in degraded or damaged ecosystems, and they are considered to be keystone species for ecological restoration. Despite their importance, there are relatively few studies that quantify the roles of ecosystem engineers during ecological restoration. In this study, the influence of excavation by Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) on biological processes during the restoration in burned forest sites in subtropical China were assessed. Results showed that plant species preferentially colonized burrow habitats and animal species intensively utilized burrow resources, benefiting the restoration of biodiversity in burned forest habitats. One year following forest fire, the network complexity and stability of plants and animals in burned habitats with burrows were significantly higher than those without burrows. The significantly positive associations between animals, especially birds, and multiple plant species suggested that the burrow utilization by animals accelerate the ecological processes of plant seed dispersal from fire-free to burrow habitats, and from burrow habitats to burned habitats without burrows. These findings imply that pangolin burrows serve as hubs for multi-species coexistence and accelerate the biodiversity restoration of burned forests. Excavation by ecosystem engineers, represented here by Chinese pangolins, exhibits important implications for ecological restoration of fire-burned forest ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c7f3239ea5b4ef8b55e6d2a9ab656f9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c7f3239ea5b4ef8b55e6d2a9ab656f92025-08-20T02:47:13ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-04-0158e0341610.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03416Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowingSong Sun0Sheng Zhang1Fei Wu2Yuanwen Kuang3Yaqian Zhang4Hongliang Dou5Haiyang Gao6Ying Wang7Jinzhen Yang8Jingxin Wang9Yan Hua10Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China; Corresponding author.Ecosystem engineers are a critical driver of material cycling and energy flow in degraded or damaged ecosystems, and they are considered to be keystone species for ecological restoration. Despite their importance, there are relatively few studies that quantify the roles of ecosystem engineers during ecological restoration. In this study, the influence of excavation by Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) on biological processes during the restoration in burned forest sites in subtropical China were assessed. Results showed that plant species preferentially colonized burrow habitats and animal species intensively utilized burrow resources, benefiting the restoration of biodiversity in burned forest habitats. One year following forest fire, the network complexity and stability of plants and animals in burned habitats with burrows were significantly higher than those without burrows. The significantly positive associations between animals, especially birds, and multiple plant species suggested that the burrow utilization by animals accelerate the ecological processes of plant seed dispersal from fire-free to burrow habitats, and from burrow habitats to burned habitats without burrows. These findings imply that pangolin burrows serve as hubs for multi-species coexistence and accelerate the biodiversity restoration of burned forests. Excavation by ecosystem engineers, represented here by Chinese pangolins, exhibits important implications for ecological restoration of fire-burned forest ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000174BiodiversityBurned forestChinese pangolinEcological restorationInterspecific association |
| spellingShingle | Song Sun Sheng Zhang Fei Wu Yuanwen Kuang Yaqian Zhang Hongliang Dou Haiyang Gao Ying Wang Jinzhen Yang Jingxin Wang Yan Hua Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing Global Ecology and Conservation Biodiversity Burned forest Chinese pangolin Ecological restoration Interspecific association |
| title | Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| title_full | Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| title_fullStr | Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| title_short | Chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| title_sort | chinese pangolins facilitate ecological restoration in burned forest sites by burrowing |
| topic | Biodiversity Burned forest Chinese pangolin Ecological restoration Interspecific association |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000174 |
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