Reestablishment of a Rodent Community in Restored Desert Scrub

I conducted small-mammal trapping surveys on a desert scrub restoration site in Palm Springs, California, to document concomitant recovery of the rodent community. These surveys were conducted following quantitative vegetation sampling efforts that indicated that a predefined successful restoration criterion of 15% total shrub cover had been met throughout most of the area. But shrub cover, native shrub cover, herb cover, native herb cover, total cover, and total native cover remained significantly lower in the restoration area than in undeveloped desert scrub immediately surrounding the site. Native herb species richness was also generally lower in the restoration area. Despite these vegetation differences, rodent diversity, evenness, and abundance were very similar between the restoration and natural areas (they were consistently slightly higher in the restoration area). More diverse microhabitats, proximity to water, and reduced competition with harvester ants may have contributed to this outcome. If ecosystem restoration is the goal, reestablishment of a faunal community in restored habitat, rather than surpassing a predefined percent cover of vegetation, may be a better indicator of success, because plant cover proved to be a poor predictor of mammal success.