The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert, USA

Thompson, Daniel; Walker, Lawrence R.; Landau, F.H.; Stark, Lloyd R.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2004.09.013

Cited by 104 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…where the distance to the nearest neighbour is large). This result is consistent with the large body of literature on islands of soil fertility beneath shrub canopies in arid ecosystems [26]. However, a somewhat surprising finding is that plant species continued to exert a significant effect on soil chemistry in both wet and dry forests, where soil properties beneath canopies of different species differ by an average of 33% and 35%, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects

Waring

Álvarez‐Cansino

Barry³

et al. 2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

104

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Plant species leave a chemical signature in the soils below them, generating fine-scale spatial variation that drives ecological processes. Since the publication of a seminal paper on plant-mediated soil heterogeneity by Paul Zinke in 1962, a robust literature has developed examining effects of individual plants on their local environments (individual plant effects). Here, we synthesize this work using meta-analysis to show that plant effects are strong and pervasive across ecosystems on six continents. Overall, soil properties beneath individual plants differ from those of neighbours by an average of 41%. Although the magnitudes of individual plant effects exhibit weak relationships with climate and latitude, they are significantly stronger in deserts and tundra than forests, and weaker in intensively managed ecosystems. The ubiquitous effects of plant individuals and species on local soil properties imply that individual plant effects have a role in plant -soil feedbacks, linking individual plants with biogeochemical processes at the ecosystem scale.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects

Waring

Álvarez‐Cansino

Barry³

et al. 2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

104

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“…In desert ecosystems, such plant effects usually relate to a phenomenon called "fertility islands". This phenomenon is observed by the enrichment of water, nutrient, and root biomass in vicinity of plant canopies (Hook et al, 1991;Schlesinger and Raikes, 1996), resulting from several plant-scale processes, including plant-facilitated entrapment of soil particles and organic matter propelled by wind or rain droplets, canopy shading, hydraulic lift, and accumulation and decomposition of litterfall (Schlesinger and Raikes, 1996;Stock et al, 1999;Thompson et al, 2005;J. Li et al, 2007;P.…”

Section: B Wang Et Al: Microtopographic Variation In Soil Respiratimentioning

confidence: 99%

Microtopographic variation in soil respiration and its controlling factors vary with plant phenophases in a desert–shrub ecosystem

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Soil respiration (R s ) and its biophysical controls were measured over a fixed sand dune in a desertshrub ecosystem in northwest China in 2012 to explore the mechanisms controlling the spatial heterogeneity in R s and to understand the plant effects on the spatial variation in R s in different phenophases. The measurements were carried out on four slope orientations (i.e., windward, leeward, north-and south-facing) and three height positions on each slope (i.e., lower, upper, and top) across the phenophases of the dominant shrub species (Artemisia ordosica). Coefficient of variation (i.e., standard deviation/mean) of R s across the 11 microsites over our measurement period was 23.5 %. Soil respiration was highest on the leeward slope, and lowest on the windward slope. Over the measurement period, plant-related factors, rather than microhydrometeorological factors, affected the microtopographic variation in R s . During the flower-bearing phase, root biomass affected R s most, explaining 72 % of the total variation. During the leaf coloration-defoliation phase, soil nitrogen content affected R s the most, explaining 56 % of the total variation. Our findings highlight that spatial pattern in R s was dependent on plant distribution over a desert sand dune, and plantrelated factors largely regulated topographic variation in R s , and such regulations varied with plant phenology.

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“…Some researchers (Bochet et al 1998;Martinez-Mena et al 1999;Sanchez et al 2002;Xu et al 2008) have documented that increasing vegetation cover is an important measure to control water erosion and to improve soil quality. Vegetation type also has been shown to alter soil quality and hydrological characteristics, including increasing soil organic matter and improving soil structure (Thompson et al 2005), which can increase soil infiltration capacity (Ks), water retention, and decrease soil erodibility (Gutierrez et al 1995;Bochet et al 1999;Xu et al 2009). Furthermore, some studies have proved that some vegetation types can facilitate the development of fertile islands (Thompson et al 2005;Xu et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vegetation type also has been shown to alter soil quality and hydrological characteristics, including increasing soil organic matter and improving soil structure (Thompson et al 2005), which can increase soil infiltration capacity (Ks), water retention, and decrease soil erodibility (Gutierrez et al 1995;Bochet et al 1999;Xu et al 2009). Furthermore, some studies have proved that some vegetation types can facilitate the development of fertile islands (Thompson et al 2005;Xu et al 2009). The effectiveness of vegetation in improving soil quality and controlling runoff and soil loss depends on vegetation types (Xu et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of different types of vegetation recovery on runoff and soil erosion on a Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslide, China

Fusun¹,

Jinniu²,

Lü³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Abstract:In order to find suitable vegetation types for wider earthquake-triggered landslide rehabilitation in the eastern Longmenshan, we chose six vegetation types, which included three artificial restoration vegetation types (shrub Paeonia decomposita, deciduous tree Betula albo-sinensis, and evergreen tree Cryptomeria fortunei), two natural restoration vegetation types (middle and high coverage of grasses), and one residual vegetation. Soil quality, runoff, and soil loss were evaluated for the six vegetation types. We found that high coverage of grass prevented surface runoff and soil erosion more effectively than other vegetation types, and the deciduous tree and shrub were more suitable for soil quality recovery than the evergreen tree after the landslide. Among the three artificially planted vegetation types, the roots of the deciduous tree had stronger expansion ability than those of the shrub and evergreen tree. Our results indicated that high coverage of grass and deciduous trees could complement each other to achieve a good restoring effect, which would not only help reduce surface runoff and soil erosion but also facilitate the formation of fertile islands and enhance the stability of subsurface soils. Therefore, the two vegetation types could be used to form an effective vegetation restoration pattern for wider earthquake-triggered landslide rehabilitation in this region.Key words: earthquake-triggered landslide-fertile island-runoff-soil erosion-soil quality-vegetation type On May 12, 2008, a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of Mw 8 and a focal depth of 19 km (11 mi) occurred at the Wenchuan area of the Longmenshan fault in Sichuan Province, China. The earthquake caused a colossal fault rupture with a distance of approximately 270 km (168 mi) and triggered enormous landslides; it was the worst mountain disaster in the 20th and 21st centuries (Chigira et al. 2010). After the earthquake, investigations were conducted using Beijing No. 1 and IKONOS earth observation satellite images with ground resolution of 32 m (105 ft) and 1 m (3 ft), respectively (Di 2008). The total area of landslides induced by this earthquake was 2,260 km 2 (873 mi 2 ), which was far larger than that of recent earthquakes in mountainous areas, such as the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999 that occurred in central Taiwan (Lin et al. 2006), the Mid-Niigata Prefecture earthquake in 2004 that occurred in northwest Japan (Chigira and Yagi 2005), and the Kashmir earthquake in 2005 that occurred in northern Pakistan (Sato et al. 2007).The earthquake-triggered landslides changed green vegetation into naked rock and bare soil. The absence of a thick soil layer discouraged the percolation of rainfall, facilitated flow over the slopes as runoff, and increased the possibility of severe soil erosion when intense prolonged rainfall occurred. A preliminary estimation of soil erosion in landslides resulting from the earthquake was about 55.86 × 10 8 t (61.58 × 10 8 tn) (Chen et al. 2009). In order to reduce soil erosion and protect the enviro...

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The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert, USA

Cited by 104 publications

References 47 publications

Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects

Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant ‘Zinke’ effects

Microtopographic variation in soil respiration and its controlling factors vary with plant phenophases in a desert–shrub ecosystem

Effects of different types of vegetation recovery on runoff and soil erosion on a Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslide, China

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