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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Self-organized spatial patterns of vegetation in alpine grasslands
Ecological Modelling, Volume 201, No. 2, Year 2007
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Description
There is increased interest in vegetation spatial pattern as an indicator of transition shifts following catastrophes. Much, however, remains unknown about the mechanisms that underlie spatial pattern formations. In this study, we examined how the spatial heterogeneity of species distributions in the grasslands of the Central Pyrenees and Middle Atlas Mountains is associated with plant species diversity and the importance of self-organizing processes in the control of pattern formations. In the grasslands of the Central Pyrenees and Middle Atlas, the spatial heterogeneity of species distributions increased along a habitat degradation gradient defined by an increase in bare soil. In Central Pyrenees grasslands, however, the increase in heterogeneity was associated with self-organizing bare soil formations, rather than the self-organizing distribution of plant species. In Middle Atlas grasslands, the increased heterogeneity of species spatial distributions was a consequence of the self-organizing capacity of the composing species; the increase in bare soil was randomly distributed. In the more heavily grazed grasslands (Middle Atlas), but not in the more lightly grazed and better preserved ecosystem (Central Pyrenees), plant species richness and diversity declined significantly with an increase in grazing pressure because fewer species were able to colonize empty space. On the contrary, the colonization of bare soil by new species increased the diversity and spatial organization of new colonizing species in Central Pyrenees grassland. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Alados, Concepción L.
Spain, Zaragoza
Csic - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Aich, A. El
Morocco, Agdal Rabat
Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan Ii
Komac, Benjamin
Spain, Zaragoza
Csic - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Pueyo, Yolanda
Spain, Zaragoza
Csic - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
García-González, Ricardo
Spain, Zaragoza
Csic - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Statistics
Citations: 30
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.09.014
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics