Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi‐arid Mediterranean grasslands

Maestre, Fernando T.; Bowker, Matthew A.; Puche, María D.; Hinojosa, M. Belén; Martínez, Isabel; García‐Palacios, Pablo; Castillo, A.; Soliveres, Santiago; Luzuriaga, Arántzazu L.; Sánchez, Ana M.; Carreira, José A.; Gallardo, Antonio; Escudero, Adrián

doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01352.x

Cited by 319 publications

(307 citation statements)

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“…These processes will likely have cascading effects on other biota and on ecosystem functioning [93,97,98]. As an example, a recent survey of global drylands has shown that plant species richness is positively linked to ecosystem multifunctionality, which is also negatively related to annual mean temperature [19].…”

Section: Global Environmental Change Effects On Drylandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the expansion of woody vegetation into former grasslands [99]), a key land-cover change affecting drylands worldwide, has multiple effects on ecosystem structure and functioning [100]. Although this phenomenon has not been found to significantly affect ecosystem attributes such as biodiversity at the global scale [100], it may either enhance or reduce plant species richness at local and regional scales [97,101]. Some studies have suggested that different global change drivers, such as increases in [CO 2 ] and in the frequency of large precipitation events, may favour shrubs at the expenses of grasses in drylands [49,102,103].…”

Section: Global Environmental Change Effects On Drylandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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It is getting hotter in here: determining and projecting the impacts of global environmental change on drylands

Maestre

Salguero‐Gómez

Quero

2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

271

209

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Drylands occupy large portions of the Earth, and are a key terrestrial biome from the socio-ecological point of view. In spite of their extent and importance, the impacts of global environmental change on them remain poorly understood. In this introduction, we review some of the main expected impacts of global change in drylands, quantify research efforts on the topic, and highlight how the articles included in this theme issue contribute to fill current gaps in our knowledge. Our literature analyses identify key under-studied areas that need more research (e.g. countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Somalia, and deserts such as the Thar, Kavir and Taklamakan), and indicate that most global change research carried out to date in drylands has been done on a unidisciplinary basis. The contributions included here use a wide array of organisms (from micro-organisms to humans), spatial scales (from local to global) and topics (from plant demography to poverty alleviation) to examine key issues to the socio-ecological impacts of global change in drylands. These papers highlight the complexities and difficulties associated with the prediction of such impacts. They also identify the increased use of long-term experiments and multidisciplinary approaches as priority areas for future dryland research. Major advances in our ability to predict and understand global change impacts on drylands can be achieved by explicitly considering how the responses of individuals, populations and communities will in turn affect ecosystem services. Future research should explore linkages between these responses and their effects on water and climate, as well as the provisioning of services for human development and well-being.

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Section: Global Environmental Change Effects On Drylandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Global Environmental Change Effects On Drylandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is getting hotter in here: determining and projecting the impacts of global environmental change on drylands

Maestre

Salguero‐Gómez

Quero

2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

271

209

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“…However, recent studies have indicated that shrub encroachment has positive effects on the ecosystem functions of herbaceous biomass [15], microbe diversity, and nitrogen mineralization [16]. Based on the experiment in southeast Spain [17], shrub encroachment has been found to increase soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and biological soil crusts. Instead of leading to desertification in previous studies, shrub encroachment is considered to reverse desertification in the Mediterranean grasslands [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the experiment in southeast Spain [17], shrub encroachment has been found to increase soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and biological soil crusts. Instead of leading to desertification in previous studies, shrub encroachment is considered to reverse desertification in the Mediterranean grasslands [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Greenness of Major Shrublands in China Increased from 2001 to 2013

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Shrubs have been reported to expand into grassland and polar regions in the world, which causes complex changes in ecosystem carbon, nutrients, and resilience. Given the projected global drying trend, shrubs with their superior drought resistance and tolerance may play more important roles in global ecosystem function. Shrubland exists in all of the climate zones in China, from subtropical to temperate and high cold regions, and they occupy more than 20% of the land area. In this paper, we analyzed the spatiotemporal trend of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) for six shrubland types in China from 2001 to 2013 and its relationship to intra-and inter-annual regional climate dynamics. Existing literature reported that the vegetation index did not change significantly in China during 2000-2012. However, we found that the shrubland EVI in China increased significantly at a rate of 1.01ˆ10´3 EVI¨a´1 from 2001 to 2013. Two major shrubland types (subtropical evergreen and temperate deciduous) and two desert types (high-cold desert and temperate desert) increased significantly, whereas subalpine evergreen shrubland decreased at a rate of´0.64ˆ10´3 EVI¨a´1. We also detected a significantly lengthened growing season of temperate deciduous shrubland. The growing season length contributed significantly to the annual averaged EVI for temperate deciduous, subalpine deciduous and subtropical evergreen shrublands. Furthermore, the precipitation variation contributed more to the annual averaged EVI than the temperature. The year-round decrease in rainfall and the increase in temperature led to a significant reduction in the subalpine evergreen shrubland EVI. The enhancement of countrywide shrubland EVI may promote its contribution to the regional ecosystem function and its potential to invade grasslands.

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“…However, in the early successional stage, living environments are difficult for plants to survive due to excessive light, lack of water, and scarce nutrient in the soil (García-Orth & Martínz-Ramos 2011). But the vast energy fixing by plants through strong photosynthetic capacity (Navas et al 2010), root growth (Maestre et al 2001(Maestre et al , 2009, and litter decomposition (Wardle et al 1998;Maestre et al 2001) improves the habitat and accelerates the process of plant succession to a certain extent. Grasses can ameliorate the abiotic environment and facilitate the introduction of other species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological adaptability of four typical plants during the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest

Mao

Zang

Shao

et al. 2013

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLETaylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. AbstractThe ecological adaptability of four typical plants (two grasses: Thysanolaena maxima and Miscanthus floridulus; two shrubs: Melastoma candidum and Melastoma sanguineum) in the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest in Hainan Island of China was studied. Our purpose was to test the difference of the adaptive modes and ecological functions for four different functional groups. We measured the physiological parameters and morphological indexes to define the adaptability of the plants at this stage. Results showed that T. maxima possessed stronger water use ability, whose adaptation was mainly by the morphological architecture regulation strategy (by higher leaf self-shading). M. floridulus had greater water regulation ability and its adaptation was mainly through the physiological regulation strategy (by higher net photosynthetic rate (A) and water use efficiency). However, M. candidum and M. sanguineum integrated the morphological architecture and physiological strategies (by high A and leaf self-shading). According to the ecophysiological characteristics and adaptation modes, the plants in the early successional stage of the tropical rainforest in Hainan Island can be categorized into three functional groups: (1) physiological adaptation group, (2) morphological adaptation group, and (3) physiological and morphological integrated adaptation group.

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Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi‐arid Mediterranean grasslands

Cited by 319 publications

References 54 publications

It is getting hotter in here: determining and projecting the impacts of global environmental change on drylands

It is getting hotter in here: determining and projecting the impacts of global environmental change on drylands

The Greenness of Major Shrublands in China Increased from 2001 to 2013

The ecological adaptability of four typical plants during the early successional stage of a tropical rainforest

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