Off-road vehicles and vegetation patterning in a degraded desert ecosystem in Kuwait

Brown, Gary M.; Schoknecht, N.

doi:10.1006/jare.2000.0772

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…On the shallow, often very firm, concrete-like soils, rather monotonous stands dominated by the annual grass Stipa capensis can cover quite extensive areas (Halwagy et al, 1982;Brown & Schoknecht, 2001). As indicated by Halwagy et al (1982), and shown in Table 1, Haloxyloncommunity-IV, the number of associated species tends to be rather limited.…”

Section: Single Passage Tire Tracks As Favorable Microsites In Stipa-mentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Vegetation sampling was carried out as described by Brown & Porembski (1997; and Brown & Schoknecht (2001), and the results presented are partly based on these studies. Furthermore, 25 randomly placed 1-m 2 sampling plots were used to compare species diversity in different community types in a season of abnormally heavy rainfall (ca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Procedures for determination of the germinable seed bank were outlined in Brown & Porembski (2000) and Brown & Schoknecht (2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, such tire tracks appear to be favorable microsites for vegetation growth only if they have been caused by the single passage of a vehicle (i.e. single-passage tracks), not on more frequently used tracks (Brown & Schoknecht, 2001). In a study carried out by these authors near the Sabriya oil field in northern Kuwait, a total of 28 species were recorded in the 200 randomly placed vegetation quadrats (100 quadrats in tire tracks and 100 quadrats away from the tracks (intertrack)), all of which are annuals in Kuwait.…”

Section: Single Passage Tire Tracks As Favorable Microsites In Stipa-mentioning

confidence: 97%

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Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Brown

2003

Journal of Arid Environments

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Section: Single Passage Tire Tracks As Favorable Microsites In Stipa-mentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Procedures for determination of the germinable seed bank were outlined in Brown & Porembski (2000) and Brown & Schoknecht (2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Single Passage Tire Tracks As Favorable Microsites In Stipa-mentioning

confidence: 97%

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Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Brown

2003

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…However, for the low traffic densities found on many routes here, these costs are small in comparison to the environmental costs. The passing of vehicle-tires decimates native flora and fauna, and also degrades habitat (Brown and Schoknecht 2001). Moreover, vehicles compact the ground, damaging its ability to absorb and retain moisture and nutrients (Belnap 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Environmental Impact of not Having Paved Roads in Arid Regions: An Example from Mongolia

Keshkamat

Tsendbazar

Zuidgeest

et al. 2011

AMBIO

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Quantifying habitat impacts of natural gas infrastructure to facilitate biodiversity offsetting

Jones

Bull

Milner‐Gulland

et al. 2013

Ecology and Evolution

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Habitat degradation through anthropogenic development is a key driver of biodiversity loss. One way to compensate losses is “biodiversity offsetting” (wherein biodiversity impacted is “replaced” through restoration elsewhere). A challenge in implementing offsets, which has received scant attention in the literature, is the accurate determination of residual biodiversity losses. We explore this challenge for offsetting gas extraction in the Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan. Our goal was to determine the landscape extent of habitat impacts, particularly how the footprint of “linear” infrastructure (i.e. roads, pipelines), often disregarded in compensation calculations, compares with “hub” infrastructure (i.e. extraction facilities). We measured vegetation cover and plant species richness using the line-intercept method, along transects running from infrastructure/control sites outward for 500 m, accounting for wind direction to identify dust deposition impacts. Findings from 24 transects were extrapolated to the broader plateau by mapping total landscape infrastructure network using GPS data and satellite imagery. Vegetation cover and species richness were significantly lower at development sites than controls. These differences disappeared within 25 m of the edge of the area physically occupied by infrastructure. The current habitat footprint of gas infrastructure is 220 ± 19 km2 across the Ustyurt (total ∼ 100,000 km2), 37 ± 6% of which is linear infrastructure. Vegetation impacts diminish rapidly with increasing distance from infrastructure, and localized dust deposition does not conspicuously extend the disturbance footprint. Habitat losses from gas extraction infrastructure cover 0.2% of the study area, but this reflects directly eliminated vegetation only. Impacts upon fauna pose a more difficult determination, as these require accounting for behavioral and demographic responses to disturbance by elusive mammals, including threatened species. This study demonstrates that impacts of linear infrastructure in regions such as the Ustyurt should be accounted for not just with respect to development sites but also associated transportation and delivery routes.

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Off-road vehicles and vegetation patterning in a degraded desert ecosystem in Kuwait

Cited by 34 publications

References 33 publications

Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

The Environmental Impact of not Having Paved Roads in Arid Regions: An Example from Mongolia

Quantifying habitat impacts of natural gas infrastructure to facilitate biodiversity offsetting

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