Infilled pocket gopher tunnels: seasonal features of high alpine plateaux

摘要

Anastomosing networks of infilled tunnels, formed by the burrowing of western pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.), are exposed seasonally on Burroughs Mountain, Washington State, USA. The tunnel-fills disintegrate over several weeks following exposure by the late spring thaw (April-June). The presence of infilled tunnels demonstrates the soil moving and the overturning capacity of small mammals on high alpine plateaux, but may also have positive benefits for the maintenance of biodiversity in these sensitive environments, particularly within the context of future climate change.