Burrowed Time?

PANGOLINS DIG DEEP IN RESTORING FORESTS

With the UK and Europe currently in the grip of a heatwave, and woodland fires ranging around the world, an unlikely animal in Southern China is helping burnt forests recover. Known more for being the world's most trafficked mammal, with a boom in its export from Africa to Asia, China is the largest market for pangolin scales, which are valued for perceived medicinal properties. But it is in fact the Chinese pangolin that is now being recognised for its ability to facilitate ecological restoration due its burrowing activities.

As well as having powerful strong front claws for digging for ants, Pangolins dig deep down (some as deep as 8 feet) to create shelters. In the process they bring up moist nutrient rich soil and they do this repeatedly - some creating up to 100 burrows a year. A new study published in Global Ecology and Conservation shows that pangolin burrows support the return of plants and animals after the devastation of fire. The burrows form what scientists call "pangolin microhabitats". They stay at steady temperature and moisture levels which is perfect for plants and small animals and encourages regrowth in areas where almost everything has been wiped out.

Results from the study in burned forest sites in subtropical China showed that plant and animal species colonized burrow habitats so much so that just one year after the fires the recovery and stability of plants and animals in those areas were significantly higher than those without and also attracted a variety of bird species.

With climate change accelerating, the value of small animals like pangolins to speed up recovery could be an important tool for land managers and conservationists. If we protect pangolins, we give forests a better chance to recover, and perhaps even thrive.

Hopefully this is incentive enough to stop their illegal trade in Africa, Asia and all around the world.

Pangolin photo credits: unsplashed