Digging animals may alter many characteristics of their environment as they disrupt and modify the ground's surface by creating foraging pits or burrows. Extensive disturbance to the soil and litter layer changes litter distribution and availability, potentially altering fuel loads. In many landscapes, including peri-urban areas, fire management to reduce fuel loads is complex and challenging. The reintroduction of previously common digging animals, many of which are now threatened, may have the added benefit of reducing fuel loads. We experimentally examined how the reintroduction of a marsupial bandicoot, quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), altered surface fuel loads in an urban bush reserve in Perth, Western Australia. Foraging activities of quenda (where they dig for subterranean food) were substantial throughout the reserve, creating a visibly patchy distribution in surface litter. Further, in open plots where quenda had access, compared to fenced plots where quenda were excluded, quenda foraging significantly reduced litter cover and litter depth. Similarly, estimated surface fuel loads were nearly halved in open plots where quenda foraged compared to fenced plots where quenda were absent (3.6 cf. 6.4 Mg/ha). Fire behavior modeling, using the estimated surface fuel loads, indicated the predicted rate of spread of fire were significantly lower for open plots where quenda foraged compared to fenced plots under both low (29.2 cf. 51.4 m/h; total fuels) and high (74.3 cf. 130.4 m/h; total fuels) fire conditions. Although many environments require fire, including the bushland where this study occurred, fire management can be a considerable challenge in many landscapes, including urban bushland reserves, which are usually small and close to human infrastructure. The reintroduction of previously common digging species may have potential value as a complimentary tool for reducing fuel loads, and potentially, fire risk.

中文翻译：

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重新引入的挖掘哺乳动物的生物扰动减少了城市保护区的燃料负荷。

挖掘动物可能会通过觅食坑或洞穴破坏并改变地面的表面，从而改变其环境的许多特征。对土壤和垫料层的广泛干扰会改变垫料的分布和可用性，从而可能改变燃料负荷。在许多景观中，包括郊区，为减少燃料负荷而进行的火势管理非常复杂且具有挑战性。重新引入以前很常见的挖掘动物（其中许多动物现在已受到威胁）可能具有减少燃料负荷的额外好处。我们通过实验研究了有袋带虫昆达（Isoodon fusciventer）的重新引入如何改变西澳大利亚珀斯市区灌木丛保护区的地面燃料负荷。在整个保护区中，昆达的觅食活动（在那里挖地下食物）非常丰富，在表面垫料上产生明显的斑块状分布。此外，在没有quenda的围栏地块的开放性地块中，与quenda被排除的围栏地块相比，quenda的觅食显着减少了垫料覆盖率和垫料深度。同样，与没有围栏的围栏地块相比，在敞开的地块中，估计的地面燃料负荷几乎减少了一半（3.6 cf. 6.4 Mg / ha）。使用估计的表面燃料负荷进行的火行为建模表明，在低（29.2 cf. 51.4 m / h；总燃料）和高（ 74.3 cf. 130.4 m / h；总燃料）着火情况。尽管许多环境都需要起火，包括进行此项研究的丛林地带，但是在许多景观中，火灾管理仍是一个巨大的挑战，包括城市丛林保护区，这些保护区通常很小，并且靠近人类基础设施。重新引入以前常见的挖掘物种可能具有潜在的价值，可作为减少燃料负荷和潜在火灾风险的补充工具。