Relationships between substrate, surface characteristics, and vegetation in an initial ecosystem

Abstract

Abstract. We investigated surface and vegetation dynamics in the artificial initial ecosystem "Chicken Creek" (Lusatia, Germany) in the years 2006-2011 across a wide spectrum of empirical data. We scrutinized three overarching hypotheses concerning (1) the relations between initial geomorphological and substrate characteristics with surface structure and terrain properties, (2) the effects of the latter on the occurrence of grouped plant species, and (3) vegetation density effects on terrain surface change.Our data comprise and conflate annual vegetation monitoring results, biennial terrestrial laser scans (starting in 2008), annual groundwater levels, and initially measured soil characteristics. The empirical evidence mostly confirms the hypotheses, revealing statistically significant relations for several goal variables: (1) the surface structure properties, local rill density, local relief energy and terrain surface height change; (2) the cover of different plant groups (annual, herbaceous, grass-like, woody, Fabaceae), and local vegetation height; and (3) terrain surface height change showed significant time-dependent relations with a variable that proxies local plant biomass. Additionally, period specific effects (like a calendar-year optimum effect for the occurrence of Fabaceae) were proven.Further and beyond the hypotheses, our findings on the spatiotemporal dynamics during the system's early development grasp processes which generally mark the transition from a geo-hydro-system towards a bio-geo-hydro system (weakening geomorphology effects on substrate surface dynamics, while vegetation effects intensify with time), where pure geomorphology or substrate feedbacks are changing into vegetation-substrate feedback processes.

Small-scale spatial variability in phylogenetic community structure during early plant succession depends on soil properties

“…This finding indicates a temporal trend towards the spatial segregation of species according to soil properties. Similarly, Biber et al (2013) reported a significantly positive correlation between the species richness of N-fixing Fabaceae and the soil gravel content. Such findings contradict niche theories, which expect co-occurrences of functionally different species to increase synergistic effects (Silva and Batalha 2010) and to reduce possible interspecific competition (Götzenberger et al 2011).…”

Using Functional Trait Diversity Patterns to Disentangle the Processes Influencing the Recovery of Subalpine Grasslands Following Abandonment of Agricultural Use

“…Hence, arresting further degradation and developing viable restoration methods are predominant concerns in the region. Forb, legume, and graminoid species are the main functional groups in natural grassland communities globally (Tilman et al, 2001;Stevens et al, 2004), but their proportions can also vary between and within ecosystems, biotopes and patches (Diaz et al, 2007;Biber et al, 2013;Tóth et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2017). In the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, graminoid and legume species are rare in highly degraded grasslands, whereas graminoid and legume species are abundant in natural grassland (Wang et al, 2009).…”

Complexity of Earth Surface System Evolutionary Pathways

“…Recent studies on the role of initial conditions in ESS development assume more homogeneous conditions in early stages, with increasing heterogeneity over time (Raab et al 2012;Biber et al 2013). Structural complexity for any form of divergence is greater than for a linear or cycle trend, as is graph irregularity.…”

“…Biber et al (2013) study of interrelationships among substrate, topography, and vegetation in early stages of ESS development also assumed increasing complexity. Raab et al (2012) also noted the importance of historical information for understanding the contemporary state of an environmental system.…”