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Complex Interrelationships Among Aboveground Biomass, Soil Chemical Properties, and Events Caused by Feral Goats and Their Eradication in a Grassland Ecosystem of an Island

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Abstract

This study examined the recovery, via biotic and abiotic pathways, of a grassland ecosystem after eradication of introduced exotic goats. We used path analyses to evaluate the relative strength of relationships among aboveground biomass, soil chemical properties (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content; soil acidity), presence of nesting seabirds after goat eradication, extent of vegetation degraded by goats before their eradication, plant species composition after removal of goats, and topography. Models including the same variables with different paths were constructed using the Bayesian estimation method, and the best-fit models were constructed by comparing deviance information criterion values. Results of the path analyses demonstrated that vegetation degradation and soil erosion prior to goat eradication increased soil exchangeable acidity, which resulted in limitation of aboveground biomass. Seabird nesting after goat eradication increased the quantity of soil nutrients, possibly through inputs of feces, eggshells, and dead chicks or adults. The increase in nutrients was affected indirectly, via seabird nesting, by topography and vegetation type after goat eradication. The direct and indirect relationships demonstrated by our results suggest the existence of complex interrelationships during recovery of ecosystem function after eradication of exotic mammals.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Ministry of Environment and the Department of National Forests in the Ogasawara Islands for allowing us to conduct this study. This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22241055 and 24710274. Drs. Kazuto Kawakami, Katsuhiko Yoshida, and Yukiko Aoyama provided valuable information for discussion in this study. Dr. Kyoko Sugai helped in the field and with species identification. Drs. Taisuke Yasuda, Satoshi N. Suzuki, and Keita Fukasawa provided useful information about statistical analyses. Two anonymous reviewers and the subject-matter editor made numerous valuable comments that improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Kenji Hata, Mari Kohri & Naoki Kachi

  2. National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan

    Sayaka Morita & Syuntaro Hiradate

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  1. Kenji Hata
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  2. Mari Kohri
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  3. Sayaka Morita
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  4. Syuntaro Hiradate
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  5. Naoki Kachi
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Correspondence to Kenji Hata.

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Author contributions

Kenji Hata, Syuntaro Hiradate, Naoki Kachi conceived of or designed study. Kenji Hata, Sayaka Morita, Syuntaro Hiradate performed field research. Sayaka Morita, Syuntaro Hiradate analyzed soil chemical properties. Kenji Hata, Mari Kohri analyzed data. Kenji Hata, Mari Kohri, Sayaka Morita, Syuntaro Hiradate, Naoki Kachi wrote the paper

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Hata, K., Kohri, M., Morita, S. et al. Complex Interrelationships Among Aboveground Biomass, Soil Chemical Properties, and Events Caused by Feral Goats and Their Eradication in a Grassland Ecosystem of an Island. Ecosystems 17, 1082–1094 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9780-6

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