Herbivore and mesocarnivore carcasses trigger divergent short‐term changes in soil properties

作者：Adrián Colino‐Barea, Fuensanta García‐Orenes, Zebensui Morales‐Reyes, Moisés Gonzálvez, Carlos Martínez‐Carrasco, M Moleón, Daniel Redondo‐Gómez, Evan A.N. Marks, Minerva García‐Carmona, Victoria Arcenegui, José Carlos Huerta‐del‐Bosque, Adrián Orihuela‐Torres, Santiago Soliveres, Sofía Albolafio, Esther Sebastián‐González, Jose Antonio Sánchez‐Zapata · 发表于：Journal of Animal Ecology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2656.70214 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Evolution and Paleontology Studies、Ecology and biodiversity studies

Animal corpses act as pulses of organic matter (OM) and serve a key zoogeochemical role by providing localized nutrient inputs to soils and thereby contributing to maintaining soil functions and biogeochemical cycles. Among mammals, carnivore carcasses tend to persist longer than those of herbivores due to lower consumption rates from vertebrate scavengers. This, combined with the different composition and size of carnivore and herbivore carcasses, could modify the effects of animal-derived OM input on soil dynamics. We examined changes in soil properties (pH, electrical conductivity [EC], organic carbon, aggregate stability (AS), microbial respiration and enzymatic activities) driven by the deployment of 20 red fox (Vulpes vulpes: mesocarnivore) and 19 aoudad (Ammotragus lervia: herbivore) carcasses. We also monitored their consumption with camera traps and assessed the modulating effect of scavenging patterns and carrion features (size, type: herbivore vs. mesocarnivore). Carrion increased EC, phosphorus availability and microbial activity in the soil, but had little effect on soil organic carbon or pH. These effects were modulated by carcass size, type (fox or aoudad) and its associated consumption by scavengers. Additionally, scavenger richness modulated the effects of carrion on soil AS and phosphatase. Due to lower carcass weight, longer persistence in the environment, and the interactions between vertebrate scavengers and the carcass, soils below mesocarnivore carcasse...