Dominant plants alter the microclimate along a fog gradient in the Atacama Desert

Sotomayor, Diego A.; Drezner, Taly Dawn

doi:10.1007/s11258-019-00924-1

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…This was recorded with a Vantage Pro2 (Davis Instruments, California, United States) weather station installed locally (15°46’ S, 74°23’ W). The plant community includes a few dominant woody species and a diversity of herbaceous plants wherein annuals are the most frequent life form (Sotomayor & Drezner, 2019). We selected a site that belongs to a private reserve that limits access by cattle and other large herbivores.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Annual species have been previously examined in arid ecosystems F I G U R E 1 Conceptual figure depicting the direct and indirect effects between dominant plants, target species and understorey plant communities, as tested in this study. Solid lines represent direct effects and dashed lines indirect effects in this context (Tielbörger & Kadmon, 2000;Schiffers & Tielbörger, 2006) and are one of the most common life forms in the study site (Sotomayor & Jimenez, 2008;Sotomayor & Drezner, 2019). For each annual species, we measured the density, growth and reproductive output.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the coastal desert of Peru, we manipulated the abundance of neighbours under a dominant, benefactor tree and measured the response of two target annual species. Annual species have been previously examined in arid ecosystems in this context (Tielbörger & Kadmon, 2000; Schiffers & Tielbörger, 2006) and are one of the most common life forms in the study site (Sotomayor & Jimenez, 2008; Sotomayor & Drezner, 2019). For each annual species, we measured the density, growth and reproductive output.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dominant plant facilitation can generate indirect competition in a South‐American desert plant community

Sotomayor

Filazzola

Lortie

2021

J Vegetation Science

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Aims: Desert dominant plants commonly facilitate plant communities within their canopies. Although substantial research has examined the direct consequences of this effect, a mechanistic understanding of indirect effects mediated via beneficiary plants is still relatively limited. We tested the hypothesis that the net positive outcome of dominant plants on beneficiaries extends to a series of interactions including indirect competition or facilitation. To test this hypothesis, we aggregated two years of field surveys with a manipulative experiment. Location: Atiquipa, Southern Peru. Methods: We surveyed the understorey plant community of the dominant tree Caesalpinia spinosa and compared it to that of open microsites. Field manipulations included removal of plant neighbourhoods of two target annual species in the understorey of the dominant plant Caesalpinia spinosa and adjacent open microsites. In the surveys, we measured plant density, and in the removal experiment, plant height, fruit set, and biomass of the targets. Results: In the surveys, density of Fuertisimalva peruviana, a target species, was negatively dependent on understorey neighbours' density. Neighbourhood removal did not affect fruit set or biomass of Fuertisimalva peruviana in tree understories or open microsites. Neighbourhood removal around Plantago limensis increased biomass, plant height and fruit set, and changed the effect of the dominant tree from positive to negative for biomass. Conclusions: Understorey plant neighbours can mediate the direct effects of dominant plants in deserts, but responses to these indirect effects can be species-specific. The facilitative effects of dominant plants represent key coexistence mechanisms because they reduce stress and generate extended series of interactions not necessarily present in the open.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dominant plant facilitation can generate indirect competition in a South‐American desert plant community

Sotomayor

Filazzola

Lortie

2021

J Vegetation Science

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“…According to Weathers et al (2020), fog is a medium, vector, and connector because it links the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere and connects atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. Fog also plays a key role in controlling ecosystem processes because it modulates environmental conditions such as heat, water, and radiative interactions between the atmosphere and terrestrial systems (Sotomayor & Drezner, 2019; Weathers et al, 2020). It supplies and regulates the flow of water, nutrients, and light to ecosystems and determines the strength and type of coupling between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soil processes driving ecosystem functions (Weathers et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of altitude on soil properties in coastal fog ecosystems in Morro Moreno National Park, Antofagasta, Chile

Fuentes

Gómez

Valdez

et al. 2022

European J Soil Science

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Rare Pacific coast fog ecosystems are under threat from climate change and local factors. Although coastal fog is known to affect soil properties and microbial diversity, few studies on the Pacific coast have examined the specific microbiomes associated with these ecosystems. We evaluated the effects of coastal fog on the physicochemical, mineralogical, and microbiological properties of bare soils (vegetation‐free) and bulk soils (surrounding plant roots) from different altitudes in the Morro Moreno National Park (MMNP) in the Antofagasta region, Chile. We found that the temperature and relative humidity of the soil varied temporally (daily) and spatially (with altitude). We detected that soil organic matter and organic phosphorus content tended to increase with altitude, whereas the pH, electrical conductivity, and total phosphorus decreased. Our results showed that coastal fog could induce physical weathering below 300 masl and chemical weathering at the intermediate altitudes of ~400–600 masl. The biodiversity of bacteria and fungi increased considerably above 400 masl. Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated the bacteria in bare soil, and Bacteroidetes dominated the bulk soil communities at all altitudes. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota dominated the fungal community in both soil types. Moreover, the electrical conductivity and CaO content appear to be more closely associated with microbial communities from lower altitudes. In addition, the organic carbon content, humidity, and weathering index 2 (WI2) isolated some communities at 500 and 600 masl. The microbiological diversity reported in this work reflects the variable and different microbial niches comprising the MMNP environment. Linkages between soil property and microbial variations with altitude within this Northern Chilean coastal fog ecosystem were elucidated. This novel scientific knowledge contributes to global network strategies for fog ecosystem conservation, which aim to preserve the microbial niches and diversity in such soils. Highlights We studied physicochemical, mineralogical and microbiological properties in a fog ecosystem soils. The study provides valuable information from rare and unique Pacific coast fog systems. Soil properties and microbial diversity showed specific correlations, and dependence on altitude. This baseline could contribute to the creation of conservation strategies of these unique ecosystems.

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“…Shrubs are the dominant vegetation in deserts (Miriti, Joseph Wright, and Howe 2001;Throop et al 2012). Shrub species can thus be used to examine climate change impacts and strategies used by associated plants and animals to adapt or respond to variation at fine-scales (Sotomayor and Drezner 2019). Foundation shrubs are able to facilitate other taxa through various mechanistic pathways that include, but are not limited to, seed trapping, abiotic stress amelioration, herbivore protection, increasing pollination services, facilitation-mediated secondary seed dispersal, and soil modification (Filazzola and Lortie 2014; Lortie, Filazzola, and Sotomayor 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Climatic Amelioration in a California Desert: Artificial Shelter Versus Shrub Canopy

Ghazian¹,

Zuliani²,

Lortie³

2020

J. Ecol. Eng.

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Anthropogenic factors such as climate change, land use, urbanization, alongside the spread of invasive species are some of the challenges impacting the arid and semi-arid regions globally. The canopy of many native plants including shrubs and trees not only provides refuge from predators for some animals but also offers a shelter from climatic stressors for other plants. The canopy of native vegetation can thus be a microhabitat critical to the persistence of many species locally, and it is vital to better understand its importance for the conservation and recovery of species in these landscapes. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that triangular and rectangular artificial canopies function similarly to the canopy of resident native shrubs when ameliorating the understory micro-climate. Three light permeabilities including 15%, 50%, and 90% were tested by measuring soil and air temperature with light relative to paired open gap (non-canopied) microsites and shrubs. Shelters offered more stable temperatures and reduction in light compared to the open gap and were not significantly different from established native shrubs. This suggests that this simple, affordable intervention can provide a stopgap solution that approximates natural heterogeneity in climate at fine scales and offers a refuge whilst managers and stakeholders restore native vegetation such as slow-growing and difficult to establish shrubs within this ecosystem.

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Dominant plants alter the microclimate along a fog gradient in the Atacama Desert

Cited by 13 publications

References 51 publications

Dominant plant facilitation can generate indirect competition in a South‐American desert plant community

Dominant plant facilitation can generate indirect competition in a South‐American desert plant community

Effects of altitude on soil properties in coastal fog ecosystems in Morro Moreno National Park, Antofagasta, Chile

Micro-Climatic Amelioration in a California Desert: Artificial Shelter Versus Shrub Canopy

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