Spatial Pattern Enhances Ecosystem Functioning in an African Savanna

Pringle, Robert M.; Doak, Daniel F.; Brody, Alison K.; Jocqué, Rudy; Palmer, Todd M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000377

Cited by 213 publications

(272 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…A influência do DMP dos agregados do solo sobre a comunidade da fauna invertebrada nos sistemas de manejo avaliados favoreceu a atividade de determinadas famílias presentes no solo, como Enchytraeidae da ordem Tubificina, e Rhinotermitidae e Termitidae, da ordem Isoptera. Segundo Pringle et al (2010), a ordem Isoptera contribui para a produtividade do solo, ao estimular a vida vegetal e animal, por meio de redes de colônias uniformemente distribuídas. No presente trabalho, a adoção do SC diminuiu o DMP, em comparação aos demais sistemas (Figura 2).…”

Section: Local Os Autores Verificaram Maior Densidade Deunclassified

Fauna invertebrada e atributos físicos e químicos do solo em sistemas de integração lavoura-pecuária

Portilho¹,

Crepaldi

Borges

et al. 2011

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária (ILP) nos principais grupos da macrofauna invertebrada do solo e a relação destes organismos com os atributos físicos e químicos do solo. Foram comparados: sistema de manejo convencional, sistema integração lavoura-pecuária, sistema plantio direto, pastagem cultivada continuamente e fragmentos naturais de Cerrado e de floresta semidecídua. O experimento foi conduzido em Dourados, MS, em um Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico típico, disposto em faixas. A maior densidade, riqueza e diversidade das famílias foi observada no sistema de ILP, em plantio direto, e no sistema em pastagem cultivada continuamente. O sistema convencional promoveu maior redução na comunidade dos organismos invertebrados do solo. O sistema de ILP favorece a manutenção da diversidade da fauna invertebrada, a formação dos agregados estáveis e a fertilidade do solo. A família Sthaphylinidae é um potencial bioindicador de qualidade do solo, principalmente na floresta semidecídua e no sistema de ILP.Termos para indexação: agroecossistemas, bioindicador, Staphilinidae, rotação de culturas. Invertebrate fauna and physical and chemical attributes of soil under integrated crop-livestock systemsAbstract -The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of integrated crop-livestock (ICL) systems on the main groups of soil invertebrate macrofauna and the relationship of these organisms with soil physical and chemical attributes. The conventional system, integrated crop-livestock system, no-tillage system, continuously cultivated pasture, and natural fragments of Cerrado and of semi-deciduous forest were compared. The experiment was carried out in Dourados, MS, Brazil, on a Typic Hapludox soil, divided into strips. The highest density, richness, and diversity of families were found in the ICL system, under no-tillage, and in the continuously cultivated pasture. The conventional system caused greater reduction of the soil invertebrate community. The ICL system favors the maintenance of the invertebrate fauna diversity, the formation of stable aggregates, and soil fertility. The Sthaphylinidae family is a potential soil quality bioindicator, especially in the semi-deciduous forest and in the ICL system.

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Section: Local Os Autores Verificaram Maior Densidade Deunclassified

Fauna invertebrada e atributos físicos e químicos do solo em sistemas de integração lavoura-pecuária

Portilho¹,

Crepaldi

Borges

et al. 2011

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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“…This acts to reduce fuel loads and fire intensity while simultaneously enriching soil (Jones 1990;LePage et al 1993). Termites, their fungi, and their mounds, also provide shelter and food for many organisms occurring within and around their mounds (Sileshi et al 2009;Pringle et al 2010). These include numerous arthropods, as well as many vertebrates including birds, reptiles, aardvarks, chimpanzees and gorillas (Sileshi et al 2009).…”

Section: Importance To Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This advantage, however, will only occur where reductions in rainfall are not too great, as areas converted to semi-deserts or deserts will be too dry to support fungus-growing termites and their fungi. Besides effects on soils and decomposition, cascading effects of these changes are expected to affect the may organisms that habitually co-exist with macrotermitines (Pringle et al 2010).…”

Section: Anthropogenic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic effects on interaction outcomes: examples from insect-microbial symbioses in forest and savanna ecosystems

et al. 2011

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The influence of humans on ecosystem dynamics has been, and continues to be, profound. Anthropogenic effects are expected to amplify as human populations continue to increase. Concern over these effects has given rise to a large number of studies focusing on impacts of human activities on individual species or on biotic community structure and composition. Lacking are studies on interactions, particularly mutualisms. Because of the role of mutualisms in ecosystem stability, such studies are critically needed if we are to begin to better understand and predict the responses of ecosystems to anthropogenic change. Most organisms are involved in at least one mutualism, and many in several. Mutualisms facilitate the ability of partners to exploit particular habitats and resources, and play a large role in determining ecological boundaries. When change disrupts, enhances, or introduces new organisms into a mutualism, the outcome and stability of the original partnership(s) is altered as are effects of the symbiosis on the community and ecosystem as a whole. In this paper, using examples from six microbe-insect mutualisms in forest and savanna settings, we showcase how varied and complex the responses of mutualisms can be to an equally varied set of anthropogenic influences. We also show how alterations of mutualisms may ramify throughout affected systems. We stress that researchers must be cognizant that many observed changes in the behaviors, abundances, and distributions of organisms due to human activities are likely to be mediated by mutualists which may alter predictions and actual outcomes in significant ways.

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“…Patterns have been observed in dryland vegetation [5], in bogs and wetlands [6,7], in mussel beds [8], termite mounds [4] and other systems [9]. In many cases, ecological patterns form an intermediate realization between environmental states in which the entire landscape is either colonized or bare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local properties of patterned vegetation: quantifying endogenous and exogenous effects

Penny

Daniels

Thompson

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Dryland ecosystems commonly exhibit periodic bands of vegetation, thought to form due to competition between individual plants for heterogeneously distributed water. In this paper, we develop a Fourier method for locally identifying the pattern wavenumber and orientation, and apply it to aerial images from a region of vegetation patterning near Fort Stockton, TX, USA. We find that the local pattern wavelength and orientation are typically coherent, but exhibit both rapid and gradual variation driven by changes in hillslope gradient and orientation, the potential for water accumulation, or soil type. Endogenous pattern dynamics, when simulated for spatially homogeneous topographic and vegetation conditions, predict pattern properties that are much less variable than the orientation and wavelength observed in natural systems. Our local pattern analysis, combined with ancillary datasets describing soil and topographic variation, highlights a largely unexplored correlation between soil depth, pattern coherence, vegetation cover and pattern wavelength. It also, surprisingly, suggests that downslope accumulation of water may play a role in changing vegetation pattern properties.

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Spatial Pattern Enhances Ecosystem Functioning in an African Savanna

Abstract: Termites indirectly enhance plant and animal productivity near their mounds, and the uniform spatial patterning of these mounds enhances the overall productivity of the entire landscape.

Cited by 213 publications

References 36 publications

Fauna invertebrada e atributos físicos e químicos do solo em sistemas de integração lavoura-pecuária

Fauna invertebrada e atributos físicos e químicos do solo em sistemas de integração lavoura-pecuária

Anthropogenic effects on interaction outcomes: examples from insect-microbial symbioses in forest and savanna ecosystems

Local properties of patterned vegetation: quantifying endogenous and exogenous effects

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