Ecology of Desert Plants. II. The Effect of Rain and Temperature on Germination and Growth

Went, F. W.

doi:10.2307/1932273

Cited by 219 publications

(130 citation statements)

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“…Fortunately, however, our treatments magnified natural rainfall patterns and our results are supported by prior studies: adequate winter rain is critical for flowering and is tightly coupled to the production of winter annuals in the eastern Mojave [7,15,45]. Moreover, laboratory studies suggest even when precipitation is abundant and continuous, few plants germinate after February 01, suggesting that rains that arrive after this date may not stimulate seedling response [46]. Observations of flowering annuals outside of our pens indicated they were absent in the spring of 2012, and abundant during the spring of 2013, even though 2012 had a wetter cool-season overall.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert

Nafus

Tuberville

Buhlmann

et al. 2017

Clim Chang Responses

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Background: Deserts may be disproportionately vulnerable to changes in precipitation that accompany global climate change due to complex evolutionary relationships of species to historical conditions. Based on current and projected climate scenarios for the southwestern United States, we manipulated rainfall timing and quantity and measured the response by plants and the growth and behavior of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) to precipitation in the eastern Mojave Desert. Results: We found that winter-dominant rain -the current prevailing pattern in the eastern Mojave Desert -and greater total rainfall correlated with greater cover and species richness of plants. Winter-dominant rain also correlated with a higher proportion of native plants flowering relative to invasive plants. Juvenile tortoises grew more rapidly when they were subjected to rainfall treatments that associated with increased plant abundance and species richness, while their behavior appeared more driven by water availability. Conclusions: Our results suggest that precipitation timing may be as important as rainfall quantity when considering total effects of climate change on arid-adapted systems. Further research should explore how the timing of rainfall may interact with aridity or temperature to influence total effects due to climate change on arid communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert

Nafus

Tuberville

Buhlmann

et al. 2017

Clim Chang Responses

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“…In fact, although germination in the desert is primarily controlled by water and temperature (Went, 1949;Tevis, 1958), survival appears to be controlled by moisture (Beatley, 1967). Indeed, whereas the under-canopy 'islands of fertility' are characterized by high biomass (Patten, 1978), they are also characterized by high annual density and higher species diversity (Went, 1942;Muller, 1953;Noy-Meir, 1973;Tielbörger and Kadmon, 1995).…”

Section: Figure 10mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of shrub canopy upon surface temperatures and evaporation in the Negev Desert

Kidron

2008

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Although known as 'islands of fertility' or 'resource islands', information regarding the effect of shrubs upon microclimate in deserts is scarce. Here we report on measurements of evaporation and temperatures that were carried out in and around a pair of shrubs at the Nizzana research site in the western Negev Desert during 1993-94 and during the growing season (NovemberMarch) of 1994-95 and 1996 -1997. Whereas evaporation was measured monthly using mini-atmometers (10 cm diameter and 10 cm tall) at an exposed site and under and around the shrub (at the eastern, southern, western and northern aspects), temperature was measured under a shrub canopy, at its northern aspect, and at an exposed habitat. Evaporation was aspect dependent with increasing rates in the following order: exposed > south-facing > west-facing ≈ east-facing > north-facing > under canopy. Except from the northern aspect, the under-canopy habitat showed substantially lower rates of evaporation in comparison with all other habitats. The differences between the under-canopy and the exposed habitat were larger during wintertime (with the under-canopy habitat having 0·53 times the evaporation rate than that of the exposed habitat) although higher differences in temperatures characterized both habitats in summertime (up to 14·4°C in summer as compared with 6·9°C only in winter). The results were explained by extended surface wetness that characterized the under-canopy habitat following rainstorms. While already being dried out at the exposed habitat, surface wetness at the under canopy habitat persisted for several days afterwards, resulting, following one rainstorm, in vapour pressure of 2·15-2·39 kPa in comparison with only 0·82-0·83 kPa of the exposed habitat. The substantially lower evaporation rates that characterize the under-canopy habitat may thus play a pivotal role in providing preferential conditions for lush under-canopy annual growth.

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“…First, no one aspect of environmental variation has a pervasive coordinating effect on rodent population dynamics and community composition. This is true even though infrequent, unpredictable precipitation events determine the amount and timing of primary production in desert ecosystems (Went 1949, Tevis 1958, Hillel and Tadmor 1962, Rosenzweig 1968, Brown et al 1979, and the reproduction of 5everal rodent species apparently is stimulated by the appearance of newly-germinated annual plants (Beatley 1969, Van D e Graff and Balda 1973, Reichman and Van D e Graff 1975. Second, the rodent community is comprised of species that respond to temporal variation in the same environment in very different ways.…”

Section: Temporal Variation In This Rodent Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Changes in a Chihuahuan Desert Rodent Community

Brown¹,

Heske²

1990

Oikos

134

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We used time series analysis of ten years of monthly census data to assess the responses of both individual species and an entire community of rodents to a fluctuating desert environment. Autocorrelation analysis revealed different patterns of intra-annual fluctuation among the It species: Dipodomys spectabilis and Perognathus Jarus had pronounced annual cycles: D. ordii, D. merriaini, Chaetodipus penicillutu~, Onvchomys torridus, 0 . leucogusrer, and Neotoma alhigula exhibited annual cycles modified by interannual variation; and Feromyscus eremicus, Pm. maniculatus, and Reithrodontornys megalofis showed little evidence of annual periodicity. The timing af annual cycles and the pattern of inter-annual fluctuations also differed among species. However. two results suggest that several species responded similarly to long-term environmental variation: 1)population densities of four species and total rodent biomass and numbers were positively correlated with the densities of annual plants; and 2) many pairs of species exhibited positively correlated population dynamics over the ten years, Clustering of painvise cross-correlation coefficients was used to identify sets of species with similar population dynamics. These clusters did not necessarily contain closely related or ecologically similar species. Detrended Correspondence Analysis identified three independent patterns of variation in species composition: a long-term trend; a four-to five-year repeated pattern that appeared to correspond to the climatic effects of the El Nifio Southern Oscillation: and an annual cycle. In general. species appeared to respond individualistically to environmental variation. There was no evidence of an equilibrium community composition or of alternative stable configurations, Some competing species had negatively correlated population dynamics, but the majority of competitors exhibited positive correlations that apparently reflected similar responses to fluctuating resources.

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Ecology of Desert Plants. II. The Effect of Rain and Temperature on Germination and Growth

Cited by 219 publications

References 0 publications

Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert

Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert

The effect of shrub canopy upon surface temperatures and evaporation in the Negev Desert

Temporal Changes in a Chihuahuan Desert Rodent Community

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