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The fertile island effect varies with aridity and plant patch type across an extensive continental gradient

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Abstract

Aims

Perennial plants play important roles in maintaining ecosystem functions by forming fertile islands beneath their canopies. Little is known about how the fertile island effect varies among different patch types and across climatic gradients, or what drives the strength of its effect.

Methods

We assessed biotic (plants, biocrusts, litter) and abiotic (soil infiltrability, labile carbon, enzymes) fertile island effects beneath three plant patch types (tree, shrub and grass patches), and collected data on biotic (canopy size, grazing intensity) and abiotic (soil texture, electrical conductivity and pH) drivers at 150 sites along an extensive aridity gradient in eastern Australia.

Results

The fertile island effect was generally apparent beneath trees, shrubs and grasses, with biotic (plants) and abiotic (soils) attributes regulated differently by plant canopy size. The fertile island effect intensified with increasing aridity, with the greatest litter and soil resources accumulated beneath trees.

Conclusions

Our study provides evidence of the fertile island effect across the whole spectrum of the aridity gradient, with the effect depending on the target attribute and plant patch type. Forecasted increases in aridity will likely strengthen the fertile island effect beneath trees, reinforcing the importance of trees in drier environments to support critical ecosystem functions and services.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Samantha Travers, Alan Kwok, Genevieve Beecham and James Val for assistance with field work, and Kit King for assistance with laboratory experiments. This study was supported by Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, The Ecological Society of Australia and Australian Wildlife Society. Jingyi Ding was supported in part by China Scholarship Council (No. 201706040073).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia

    Jingyi Ding & David J. Eldridge

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  1. Jingyi Ding
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  2. David J. Eldridge
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JD and DE conceived the ideas, designed the research and collected the data. JD performed the statistical analyses and wrote the manuscript draft. DE critically revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to David J. Eldridge.

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Ding, J., Eldridge, D.J. The fertile island effect varies with aridity and plant patch type across an extensive continental gradient. Plant Soil 459, 173–183 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04731-w

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