Plant communities of a Central Namib inselberg landscape

Abstract. Three granite inselbergs and six dolerite dykes and their surroundings were investigated in the Central Namib, at the interface between the Namib Desert and Nama Karoo biomes. The main objectives of this study included a phytoso‐ciological interpretation of the described plant communities, explanation of the correlation of the communities with environmental variables and quantification of the relative contribution of different types of variables to structuring plant communities. Nine grassland and shrubland plant communities were recognized, largely organized according to general habitat, elevation, size of inselberg and geology. Soil properties, often thought to play an important role in arid environments, showed no clear patterns in the level of analyses used in this study. Other environmental parameters of importance in arid mountain habitats, such as slope aspect and angle, also played a minor role. The main implications of the study are: 1. Central Namib inselbergs, particularly granite domes, harbour diverse plant communities, often with species from neighbouring higher rainfall areas, and are thus of high conservation value. 2. The poor contribution of environmental variables in this study, which are conventionally used in field studies of plant community – environment relationships, may demand a critical review of additional parameters to be included when analysing plant community – environment relations in arid environments. In particular between‐season variation, phytogeographic aspects and the heterogeneity of microhabitats, often contained within a plant community, need to be taken into account.     

Adaptive phenology of desert and Mediterranean populations of annual plants grown with and without water stress

Summary The dynamics of vegetative and reproductive growth were compared in matched pairs of Mediteranean and desert populations of three unrelated annual species, Erucaria hispanica (L.) Druce, Brachypodium distachyon (L.) Beauv. and Bromus fasciculatus C. Presl., under high and low levels of water availability in a common-environment experiment. Plants of all desert populations showed earlier switches to reproductive development and to subsequent phenophases, and the transition to flowering occurred at smaller plant sizes. Water stress had no effect (E. hispanica) or slightly accelerated the transition to flowering in B. fasciculatus (by 1–2 days) and in B. distachyon (by 4–6 days). Plant senescence was strongly enhanced by water stress, and this enhancement was greater in desert populations than in corresponding Mediterranean ones. Duration of life cycle was greatly shortened by water stress in all three species. Desert and Mediterranean populations of the three species exhibited small differences in their relative response, i.e. phenotypic plasticity, to water stress for phenological and plant size parameters. In E. hispanica and B. fasciculatus the population x water regime interaction amounted to less than 3% of total variance. By contrast, the Mediterranean population of B. distachyon was much more plastic in its response to water stress than the desert population in its transition to plant senescence. Plants from the desert populations appeared to be adapted to shorter, more compact growth cycles, culminating in earlier dates of seed maturation and plant senescence. In addition, they showed larger phenotypic plasticity in the transition to plant senescence, which trait was enhanced or magnified by sustained or repeated lack of water. By contrast, plants from Mediterranean populations delayed switchover from one phenophase to the next, seeming thus to bet on more water being forthcoming.     

Effects of predatory risk and resource renewal on the timing of foraging activity in a gerbil community

The foraging decisions of animals are often influenced by risk of predation and by the renewal of resources. For example, seed-eating gerbils on sand dunes in the Negev Desert of Israel prefer to forage in the bush microhabitat and during darker hours due to risk of predation. Also, daily renewal of seed resource patches and timing of nightly foraging activity in a depleting environment play important roles in species coexistence. We examined how these factors influence the timing of gerbil foraging by quantifying foraging activity in seed resource patches that we experimentally renewed hourly during the night. As in previous work, gerbils showed strong preference for the safe bush microhabitat and foraged less in response to high levels of illumination from natural moon light and from artificial sources. We demonstrate here for the first time that gerbils also responded to temporal and spatial heterogeneity in predatory risk through their timing of activity over the course of each night. Typically, gerbils concentrated their activity early in the night, but this changed with moon phase and in response to added illumination. These results can be understood in terms of the nature of patch exploitation by gerbils and the role played by the marginal value of energy in determining the cost of predation. They further show the dynamic nature of gerbil foraging decisions, with animals altering foraging efforts in response to time, microhabital, moon phase, illumination, and resource availability.     

Distribution of osmoregulatory peptides and neuronal-glial configuration in the hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei of desert rodents

The desert rodents Psammomys obesus and Gerbillus tarabuli live under extreme conditions and overcome food and water shortage by modes of food and fluid intake specific to each species. Using immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, we found that the hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei, and in particular, their vasopressinergic component, is highly and similarly developed in Psammomys and Gerbillus. In comparison to other rodents, the hypothalamus in both species contains more magnocellular VP neurons that, together with oxytocin neurons, accumulate in distinct and extensive nuclei. As in dehydrated rodents, many magnocellular neurons contained both neuropeptides. A striking feature of the hypothalamic magnocellular system of Psammomys and Gerbillus was its display of ultrastructural properties related to heightened neurosecretion, namely, a significant reduction in glial coverage of neuronal somata and dendrites in the hypothalamic nuclei. There were many neuronal elements whose surfaces were directly juxtaposed and shared the same synapses. Their magnocellular nuclei also showed a high level of sialylated isoform of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (PSA-NCAM) that underlies their capacity for neuronal and glial plasticity. These species thus offer striking models of structural neuronal and glial plasticity linked to natural conditions of heightened neurosecretion.     

Water stress tolerance of shrubs in Mediterranean-type climate regions: Convergence of fynbos and succulent karoo communities with California shrub communities

Mediterranean-type climate regions are highly biodiverse and predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Shrubs of the mediterranean-type climate region of South Africa are highly threatened, and their response to water stress has been comparatively little studied. Resistance to water stress induced xylem cavitation (P(50)) and xylem specific hydraulic conductivity (K(s)) were measured in 15 shrub species from fynbos and succulent karoo communities of South Africa. Species displayed a fivefold variation in cavitation resistance (P(50) of -1.9 to -10.3 MPa) with succulent karoo species displaying greater interspecific variability in P(50) than fynbos species. Principal components analysis (including P(50), minimum seasonal water potential, K(s), and xylem density) showed the response to water stress in fynbos species to be similar to chaparral species from the mediterranean-type climate region of California. The data suggest convergence of community and species-specific water stress "strategies" between these mediterranean-type climate regions with respect to their xylem traits. On the basis of the current study and reported plant death and dieback in these regions, woody species within the fynbos may be more susceptible to climate warming and drying than those within the succulent karoo that appear to be utilizing more diverse xylem strategies in response to water stress.     

Effects of grazing and invasive grasses on desert vertebrates in California

Much of California's San Joaquin Valley is a desert and, like portions of other North American deserts, is experiencing an ecological shift from being dominated by ephemeral native forbs, with widely spaced shrubs, to fire-prone non-native annual grasses. Small terrestrial vertebrates, many of which are adapted to open desert habitats, are declining. One hypothesis is that the invasive plants contribute to the decline by altering vegetative structure. Although cattle may have originally been a factor in the establishment of these non-native plants, their grazing may benefit the terrestrial vertebrates by maintaining an open structure, especially during average or wet winters when the exotic grasses grow especially dense. We experimentally tested the effect of cattle grazing on invasive plants and a community of small vertebrates at a site in the southwestern San Joaquin Desert. We established and monitored 4 treatment (grazed) and 4 control (ungrazed) plots from 1997 to 2006, and assessed the abundances of blunt-nosed leopard lizards (Gambelia sila), giant kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ingens), short-nosed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), and San Joaquin antelope squirrels (Ammospermophilus nelsoni), all of which are listed as threatened or endangered by state or federal agencies. We also recorded abundances of the non-protected western whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis tigris), side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana), San Joaquin pocket mice (Perognathus inornatus inornatus), and Heermann's kangaroo rats (Dipdomys heermanni). Based on repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a 0.05 alpha level, only Heermann's kangaroo rats showed a treatment effect; they were more abundant on the control plots. However, this effect could be accounted for by the natural re-establishment of saltbush (Atriplex spp.) on part of the study site. Saltbush return also favored western whiptail lizards and San Joaquin antelope squirrels. A regression analysis indicated that populations of blunt-nosed leopard lizard and giant kangaroo rat increased significantly faster in grazed plots than the ungrazed controls, and abundances of 6 of 8 species were negatively correlated with increased residual dry matter. With relaxed alpha values to decrease Type II error, populations of blunt-nosed leopard lizards (500% greater), San Joaquin antelope squirrels (85% greater), and short-nosed kangaroo rats (73% greater) increased significantly on grazed plots over the course of the study compared to ungrazed plots. We did not find grazing to negatively affect abundance of any species we studied. When herbaceous cover is low during years of below average rainfall in deserts and other arid areas, grazing may not be necessary to maintain populations of small vertebrates. However, if cattle grazing is closely monitored in space and time to minimize adverse effects on the habitat, it could be an effective tool to control dense stands of non-native grasses and benefit native wildlife. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

干旱荒漠区生态环境质量遥感动态监测——以古尔班通古特沙漠为例

利用遥感生态指数(RSEI)对区域生态变化进行评价,可以快速、高效、客观地获取研究区生态环境变化状况.本研究以两期Landsat数据为数据源,计算研究区绿度、湿度、热度、干度4个生态因子的遥感生态指数,并基于主成分分析法确定其权重,对古尔班通古特沙漠2006—2017年间的生态环境时空格局进行定性和定量评价.结果表明: 湿度和绿度对古尔班通古特沙漠生态环境质量起正面作用,而热度和干度对生态环境质量起负面作用,其中代表绿度指标的归一化植被指数(NDVI)的贡献最大.2006—2017年间,古尔班通古特沙漠的RSEI有所下降,其均值从0.294下降至0.243,降幅达20.1%,研究区的生态环境状况呈现整体变差的趋势.古尔班通古特沙漠中部生态环境较为稳定,东北部植被覆盖密集区及南缘灌溉区生态环境质量变好,沙漠南部及西北部区域生态环境质量变差.     

Succulent plants on arid inselbergs

Succulent plants in arid areas are believed to be often associated with high altitudes, except where they form the dominant, zonal vegetation such as in the Succulent Karoo Biome of southern Africa. To test this hypothesis the contribution of perennial succulents to inselberg floras was investigated on twenty-two isolated mountains (inselbergs) at four study sites (Etendeka–Barab: 19°34′ S/13°42′ E; Spitzkoppe: 21°49′ S/15°09′ E; Namibrand: 25°17′ S/15°47′ E; and Sperrgebiet: 27°43′ S/16°04′ E) along a nearly 1000 km bioclimatic gradient in the Namib Desert and adjacent areas, from the Succulent Karoo in the south to the northern Namib, and along altitude gradients.The contribution of succulents to the flora clearly increased with altitude at the two central study sites, thus showing a hump-shaped trend along the bioclimatic gradient. No such correlation was found at the northern and southern end of the bioclimatic gradient. The surrounding (rocky) lowlands likely resulted in a more even distribution of succulents throughout the landscape in the north, while the position in the heartland of the succulent flora in southern Africa at the southern-most site, levelled out potential patterns related to altitude. Nevertheless, even here, a fair number of succulents restricted to mountain habitats occur. This is the case in all other study sites, where succulents restricted to mountain habitats are always present.Some perennial succulents, such as Aridaria noctiflora, Euphorbia gummifera and Tetragonia reduplicata indicate an upward movement with increasing distance from the Succulent Karoo, by growing on plains and lowlands in the Succulent Karoo, but only on inselbergs at study sites north of the Succulent Karoo.Many of the mountain specialist succulents are sought after by plant collectors, such as species of Conophytum, Crassula and Lithops. Protecting and monitoring vulnerable populations as well as growing these in horticulture may help to alleviate the pressure on some of these rare species in nature. Preserving genetic material of isolated populations from mountain tops ex situ is another important conservation measure, and particularly important in the view of anticipated climatic change.