Wildlife
How To Support Soil Health Through Practices That Also Enhance Habitat Quality For Burrowing Wildlife.
Healthy soils underpin robust ecosystems, and mindful land care can simultaneously improve soil structure, moisture retention, and nutrient cycling while creating inviting habitats for burrowing wildlife such as prairie dogs, burrowing owls, gophers, and ground-dwelling insects.
Published by
Andrew Scott
August 08, 2025 - 3 min Read
Healthy soil is a living system, rich in organic matter, diverse microbes, and stable aggregates that breathe, drain, and store water. When land managers adopt soil-smart practices, they seed a cascade of habitat benefits for burrowing wildlife. By prioritizing cover crops or perennial groundcovers, we reduce erosion and keep soil layers loose enough to host tunnels and dens. Compost and mulches feed soil life, releasing nutrients slowly to plants and providing food for burrow-dwellers that forage near or within tunnel networks. Integrating minimal-till approaches supports soil porosity, which helps burrowing species move air, find moisture, and excavate with less effort. This synergy is foundational to resilient ecosystems.
Beyond feeding soils, habitat quality rises when landscapes offer shelter, forage, and stable microclimates. Strategic plantings that provide diverse root depths create a layered soil profile, encouraging a rich community of invertebrates that burrowing animals rely on for food. Herbaceous mixes with deep roots sustain moisture during dry periods, while flowering perennials supply pollen and nectar for pollinators, which in turn support predator networks that lightly regulate pest populations near burrow entrances. For soil health, consider rotating crops or rotating cover species to disrupt pests, break disease cycles, and renew soil organic matter. The result is a more hospitable underground world and a thriving surface ecosystem.
Creating diverse microhabitats through plant and soil choices
When designing a habitat-friendly soil plan, start with sensible disturbance that loosens the surface without destroying tunnel systems. Lightly incorporating compost, mulch, or leaf litter on top of seeded cover crops improves moisture retention and feeds detritivores essential to soil food webs. Diverse plant communities above ground reflect in deeper, more complex roots below, which sculpt soil structure and pore networks. As soil breathes easier, burrowing animals expend less energy excavating, and they can more readily locate moist pockets after rainfall. This balance between surface cover and soil openness creates a foundation for stable burrow colonies and healthier earthworms, beetles, and micro-micros which enrich nutrient cycling.
Water management ties soil health to burrowing habitat. Techniques such as contouring, creating micro-terraces, and redirecting runoff away from vulnerable burrow banks help maintain consistent moisture. Wet spots near tunnel entrances can encourage moisture-dependent fauna to linger, while excessive pooling deters some species. Mulching with organic material modestly reduces evaporation, moderates soil temperatures, and fosters microbial communities that process nutrients into forms accessible to plants and invertebrates. These practices cultivate a mosaic of microhabitats across the landscape, making burrows more resilient to drought, heavy rains, and seasonal swings. Over time, soil becomes a living sponge that supports both plants and underground neighbors.
Soil health as the backbone of habitat quality for burrowers
Plant selection matters as much as soil texture. Favor a mix of grasses, forbs, and leguminous species to supply a steady food base for herbivores and invertebrates while improving soil chemistry through nitrogen fixation, organic matter accumulation, and mineral cycling. Deep-rooted species create channels that improve drainage and aeration, which burrowing wildlife appreciate when moving between tunnels and feeding areas. Shallow-rooted forbs stabilize the surface and provide habitat for beneficial insects that help reduce pests around burrow entrances. By weaving functional plantings with soil-stabilizing groundcovers, you maximize both soil health and the quality of terrestrial shelter for burrow-dwelling communities.
Maintenance matters as much as planting. Regular inspection of cover crops, pruning of woody debris, and timely replacement of mulch prevent crusting, which can smother emerging tunnel outlets. Avoid heavy gear on soft soils after rain; compaction shuts down oxygen pathways and makes burrows harder to access. Implementing a schedule for soil testing helps track organic matter levels, pH, and nutrient balance, ensuring amendments are targeted and non-disruptive to wildlife. When soil health improves, the vegetation grows stronger, roots extend deeper, and burrowing species find more stable homes with abundant foraging opportunities nearby. The outcome is a more resilient system supporting diverse life underground and above.
Practical tactics that nurture soil and burrow habitats together
Biodiversity above ground translates into more robust systems below. By maintaining a continuous cover of grasses and forbs, you reduce bare soil that erodes and compacts, while simultaneously offering forage for small mammals and insects that populate tunnel networks. Avoid monocultures and keep a rotating or polyculture approach to plantings; this reduces disease risk and creates a tapestry of textures and smells that attract a broader array of wildlife. Soil organisms thrive where organic matter is plentiful and moisture fluctuates gently. In turn, burrowing animals facilitate aeration and microbial activity, further enhancing soil structure. The net effect is a self-supporting loop of soil health and wildlife habitat.
Integrating wildlife-friendly practices with soil stewardship also supports climate resilience. Healthy soils store carbon, enrich water retention, and buffer temperature extremes—benefits that stabilize burrow ecosystems during droughts and heat waves. Practices such as compost additions, reduced tillage, and diverse plant communities contribute to carbon-rich soil organic matter and microbial diversity. In burrow-rich habitats, these microbes assist in nutrient cycling, helping plants recover after stress events and feeding a wider range of subterranean organisms. The combined effect is a landscape that maintains soil function and sustains communities of burrowing wildlife year after year.
Long-term stewardship that protects soil and burrowing life
Start with a soil-first assessment to identify compaction zones, moisture gradients, and erosion hotspots. Use targeted interventions that favor schist-like, loamy textures or well-structured clay soils known to support tunnel systems. Introduce organic amendments slowly and in modest quantities to avoid sudden pH shifts or nutrient spikes that might disrupt soil biota. Pair amendments with living mulches to keep soil covered year-round. As soils become more resilient, burrow entrances stay stable, and foraging nearby increases, fostering a healthier interface between soil health and wildlife living underground.
Smart irrigation supports both soil and burrow habitat. Drip or surge irrigation directed to root zones minimizes surface runoff and keeps soil pores functioning. Watering schedules aligned with plant and insect activity sustain a lively soil food web that burrowing animals depend on for food. Drip shields and mulch layers reduce evaporation, moderating soil temperature in extreme weather. Over time, these water-conscious strategies preserve soil integrity, protect tunnel banks from collapse, and encourage a diverse burrowing community to thrive alongside vibrant above-ground plant growth.
A landscape that protects burrowing wildlife begins with thoughtful land-use choices. Limit heavy machinery to dry days and map seasonal access to minimize trampling of tunnels. Establish quiet corridors free of disturbance around known burrow sites to reduce stress and abandonment risks. Encourage native or well-adapted species that fit local climate and soil conditions, ensuring plants and soil biota co-evolve with resident wildlife. Create citizen science opportunities to monitor burrow presence and soil health indicators. This participatory approach strengthens stewardship, educates communities, and reinforces a shared commitment to soil and wildlife resilience.
Finally, embrace adaptive management. Regularly revisit soil tests, wildlife observations, and vegetation performance to adjust practices. Small adjustments—such as tweaking cover crop mixes, rebalancing mulch layers, or reorienting irrigation—can yield outsized gains for both soil life and burrowing species. Celebrate incremental improvements and document lessons learned for future projects. By aligning soil health with habitat quality, land managers sustain productive soils and welcoming homes for burrowing wildlife, securing ecological benefits that endure across generations.
