VEGETATION PATCHES AND RUNOFF–EROSION AS INTERACTING ECOHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES IN SEMIARID LANDSCAPES

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The effect of grazing on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation

P. Adler, D. A. Raff, W. K. Lauenroth (2001)

Grazing can alter the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation, influencing ecosystem processes and biodiversity. Our objective was to identify why grazing causes increases in the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation in some cases, but decreases in others. The immediate effect of grazing on heterogeneity depends on the interaction between the spatial pattern of grazing and the pre-existing spatial pattern of vegetation. Depending on the scale of observation and on the factors that determine animal distribution, grazing patterns may be stronger or weaker than vegetation patterns, or may mirror the spatial structure of vegetation. For each possible interaction between these patterns, we make a prediction about resulting changes in the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation. Case studies from the literature support our predictions, although ecosystems characterized by strong plant-soil interactions present important exceptions. While the processes by which grazing causes increases in heterogeneity are clear, how grazing leads to decreases in heterogeneity is less so. To explore how grazing can consistently dampen the fine-scale spatial patterns of competing plant species, we built a cell-based simulation model that features two competing plant species, different grazing patterns, and different sources of vegetation pattern. Only the simulations that included neighborhood interactions as a source of vegetation pattern produced results consistent with the predictions we derived from the literature review.

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ECOHYDROLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF WOODY PLANT ENCROACHMENT

Travis E Huxman, Bradford P. Wilcox, David Breshears … (2005)

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Small rainfall events: An ecological role in semiarid regions.

O. Sala, W. K. Lauenroth (1982)

Small precipitation events account for a large proportion of the precipitation received in semiarid regions, and their potential ecological importance has previously been ignored. We investigated the effect of a small rainfall event (5 mm) upon Bouteloua gracilis, the dominant grass species of the central and southern Great Plains of North America. An effect of a small event on leaf water potential and leaf conductance to water vapor was observed in less than 12 h and lasted for up to two days.The remarkable short response time of Bouteloua gracilis to a rainfall stimulus enables this species to utilize small events and, therefore, may influence its persistence as a dominant species in the steppe region.We proposed response times to be one of the major species characteristics determining capacity for utilizing different portions of the water resource of the region. We suggest that small precipitation events are ecologically significant and a qualitatively distinct resource for ecosystems in semiarid regions.

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Author and article information

Journal

Title: Ecology

Abbreviated Title: Ecology

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

ISSN (Print): 0012-9658

Publication date Created: February 2005

Publication date (Print): February 2005

Volume: 86

Issue: 2

Pages: 288-297

Article

DOI: 10.1890/03-0569

SO-VID: 6962d773-27f5-4f34-934d-0e2e5ba9b8e5

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http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1

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