Abstract: Rodent damage is becoming increasingly serious across desert steppe in the middle region of the northern piedmont of Qilian Mountains, which threatens local animal husbandry and grassland ecological protection. It is therefore of great significance to identify the characteristics of local rodent habitats for precise control over rodents. In this study, we investigated the geographical distribution of rodents in this region as well as soil physical characteristics and plant community structure in the main distribution areas, aiming to reveal the habitat characteristics of rodents at three aspects of vegetation landscape, soil, and plants. Results showed that desert steppe was the main distribution area of rodents in the study area. The density of rodent holes was significantly correlated with soil compactness and soil moisture of the 0-30 cm layer (R²>0.32, P<0.05). Vegetation coverage, plant biomass, Patrick index and Pielou index were significantly correlated with rat hole density (R²>0.31, P<0.05), while the frequency of Salsola passerina was significantly negatively correlated with rodent hole density (P<0.05). The results of redundancy analysis showed that soil compactness of 0-30 cm layer significantly affected the habitat selection of rodents (P<0.01). Our results demonstrate that soil compactness of 0-30 cm layer is the main environmental factor affecting habitat selection of rodents in the study area.

Key words: desert steppe, rodent, distribution, habitat.