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Soil-vegetation relationship at several arid microsites in the Wadi Araba (Jordan)

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Abstract

With the aim to specify the microhabitats of annual plants at arid sites, five different sites within an Acacietum tortilis in the Wadi Araba were investigated. During one vegetation period, plants and soil conditions were analyzed simultaneously and the results were correlated. The water regime is one of the most important facts influencing vegetation pattern: On the one hand, additional lateral water favours the conditions of some microhabitats, on the other hand, the plant available water is strongly limited by salinization leading to osmotic stress. Additionally, ion specific effects of salinization influence the vegetation pattern. The different supply of nitrogen scarcely influences plant growth. The character of the surface can be important for the plant establishment and therefore for the species composition at the different sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Systematische Botanik u. Pflanzengeographie, Freie Universität, Altensteinstr. 6, D-1000, Berlin 33, FRG

    Matthias Jenny

  2. Institut für Ökologie, FG Bodenkunde, Technische Universität, Salzufer 11-12, D-1000, Berlin 10, FRG

    Ursula Smettan & Michael Facklam-Moniak

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  1. Matthias Jenny
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  2. Ursula Smettan
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  3. Michael Facklam-Moniak
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Jenny, M., Smettan, U. & Facklam-Moniak, M. Soil-vegetation relationship at several arid microsites in the Wadi Araba (Jordan). Vegetatio 89, 149–164 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00032167

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