Species composition of small mammal and abundance in natural and rehabilitated saxaul forest at the Gunii khooloi, Khanbogd soum

Abstract

The research was conducted in the Southern Mongolia (107°4052'E, 43°4187'N) in 2016, 2017 and 2020. We collected small mammal data from two plots located in Gunii khooloi (GKh) borefield areas of Khanbogd soum. The number of sampling plots was determined in consideration of comparison of vegetation in the rehabilitated and natural area. Capture-mark-recapture method, using Sherman traps, is being used for this study. 66 individuals of 4 species of 4 genera were identified from rehabilitation plot. In comparison, a total of 122 small mammals belonging to 5 species of 5 genera were captured and identified from the natural plot. P. roborovskii, M. meridianus, and D. sagitta were the dominant species in both rehabilitation plot and natural plot in GKh. Species diversity, richness, and evenness indices of small mammal at rehabilitation plot were lower than at the natural plot in 2016 and 2017, while species diversity, richness, and evenness at rehabilitation plot were higher than at natural plot in 2020. There were no significant differences in the abundance between the rehabilitation plot and natural plot. The study showed that small mammal abundance (on average 71.2 individuals/ha) in the natural plot was higher than small mammal abundance (56.1 individual/ha) in the rehabilitation plot in GKh borefield area. Preliminary study results are showing that there is a rapid colonization of the rehabilitation areas; however, the natural saxaul forest has higher density six years after rehabilitation plantings were completed, also species diversity, species richness, and species evenness in rehabilitation plot became same to the natural saxaul forest. Most rehabilitation and closure monitoring is focusses on vegetation monitoring; the present study shows the importance of other types of monitoring to assess the function of the rehabilitated ecosystem. This study will be continued to get more precise evaluation of small mammals' succession in rehabilitated area. This study illustrates that other ecological end-points should be included in the monitoring of rehabilitation areas.