How can Brandt’s vole turn Mongolian grassland into near-desert?

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Grassland A prairie grassland in Buffalo Gap National Grassland, South Dakota, U.S.

Brandt’s vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) can transform Mongolian grassland into a near-desert environment through its intense feeding and burrowing activities. In certain years, these rodents consume such a high proportion of the available vegetation that they effectively reduce their grassland habitat to a state of virtual desert.1