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Small-scale observation on the effects of the burrowing activities of mole crickets on soil erosion and hydrologic processes

Tongchuan Li,M. Shao,Yuhua Jia,X. Jia,Laiming Huang

Published 2018 in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

ABSTRACT

Abstract Soil-dwelling insects create continuous biopores when making their nests. Such burrowing activities alter soil structure and increase water infiltration. As fresh soil is brought onto the surface, sediments become available for erosion. Limited attention has been given to the ecological function of mole crickets on the Loess Plateau. In this study, the nest characteristics of adult and immature mole crickets (Gryllotalpa unispina) and their effects on soil hydrologic processes were investigated. Thin slurry of orthodontic plaster was used to fill the subterranean nests in the field to generate 3D renderings of the nest architecture. Dyeing and rainfall simulation experiments were conducted in a nest scale to quantify the effects of mole cricket burrows on the runoff and water infiltration on the slopes. G. unispina burrows consisted of horizontal and vertical parts. The mean diameter and depth of the vertical burrows created by adult mole crickets were 1.51 and 46.3 cm, which were significantly (P

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