Effects of Plateau Pika Disturbance on the Spatial Heterogeneity of Vegetation in Alpine Meadows.

Herbivory is one of the important factors that influence spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in grasslands. In this study, we focused on plateau pika () to investigate the effects of the presence of small semi-fossorial herbivores and their disturbance intensity on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in alpine meadows across three sites in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. A random stratified paired sampling method was used to collect vegetation data, and plant species richness at both fine and coarse scales were used to estimate the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation.