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Small-scale Environmental Heterogeneity and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Seedling Establishment in a Semiarid Degraded Ecosystem

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Abstract

In semiarid environments, surface soil properties play a major role in ecosystem dynamics, through their influence on processes such as runoff, infiltration, seed germination, and seedling establishment. Surface soil properties usually show a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in semiarid areas, but direct tests to evaluate the consequences of this heterogeneity on seedling establishment are limited. Using a combination of spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) and principal components analysis (PCA) we quantified the spatiotemporal patterns of seedling survival of a Mediterranean native shrub (Pistacia lentiscus) during the first 3 years after planting on a semiarid degraded site in southeastern Spain. We used a variation partitioning method to identify environmental variables associated with seedling survival patterns. Three years after planting, only 36% of the seedlings survived. During the first summer, one-third of the seedlings died, with secondary major mortality in the 3rd summer after planting. The spatial pattern of survival became strongly clumped by the end of the first summer, with clearly defined patches (areas of high survival) and gaps (areas of low survival). The intensity of this pattern increased after subsequent high-mortality periods. Of the 14 variables, the ones most strongly coupled to seedling survival were bare soil cover, sand content, and soil compaction. These findings contribute to our understanding of the linkages between the spatial heterogeneity of abiotic factors and the response of plant populations in semiarid degraded ecosystems and can be used to optimize restoration practices in these areas.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Alberto Vilagrosa, Daniel Fonseca, Jaume Fons, José Huesca, Francisco Rodríguez, Manuel Ruiz, José García, Ángeles G. Mayor, and Ricardo Papi for help during fieldwork. Joe Perry kindly facilitated the SADIE software. We thank Richard Webster, Joe Perry, and Pierre Legendre for statistical advice, and Richard Webster, James F. Reynolds, William Schlesinger, Kiona Ogle, Paul Stoy, Guy Telesnicki, David Tremmel, David Tongway, and an anonymous referee for useful discussions on earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was funded by an FPU fellowship of the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte awarded to F.T.M. and by the European Commission–funded REDMED project (contract no. ENV4-CT97-0682). The CEAM Foundation is supported by Generalitat Valenciana and Bancaixa.

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  1. Departamento de Ecologìa, Universidad de Alicante, Apartado de Correos 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain

    Fernando T. Maestre, Jordi Cortina, Susana Bautista & Juan Bellot

  2. Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo, C/ Charles Darwin, 14, 46980 Paterna, Spain

    Susana Bautista & Ramon Vallejo

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  1. Fernando T. Maestre
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Correspondence to Fernando T. Maestre.

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Maestre, F., Cortina, J., Bautista, S. et al. Small-scale Environmental Heterogeneity and Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Seedling Establishment in a Semiarid Degraded Ecosystem . Ecosystems 6, 630–643 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0222-5

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