Microtine Abundance and Soil Sodium Levels

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A collection of 65 published records of population densities of microtine rodents, including individual studies of 130 populations, reveals a marked difference in peak densities reached according to geographical area. An apparent correlation exists between the relative abundance of sodium in the soil and the peak densities which microtines reach. Densities of over 1,000 per acre are frequently reported from high sodium areas, while they rarely exceed 100 in low sodium areas. Population fluctuations occur regardless of sodium level, but the densities reached at population peaks are characteristically many times higher in regions of high soil sodium than in regions of low soil sodium.