Reply to Walsh et al.: Hexagonal patterns of Australian fairy circles develop without correlation to termitaria

Getzin, Stephan; Yizhaq, Hezi; Bell, Bronwyn; Erickson, Todd E.; Postle, Anthony C.; Katra, Itzhak; Tzuk, Omer; Zelnik, Yuval R.; Wiegand, Kerstin; Wiegand, Thorsten; Meron, Ehud

doi:10.1073/pnas.1611877113

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…B, D; Getzin et al. , b). Australian soils are known for their continuing emergence of carbonate horizons, strongly weathered red earths (kandosols), and especially in the western Australian deserts, hardpan formation is common at shallow layers of only 0.3–1.0 m depth (Morton et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, mechanical crusts were much thinner, less hard, and the gap centers had both, significantly higher amounts of clay and significantly lower infiltration rates than the vegetation matrix (Getzin et al. , b). Here, we found, in large bare‐soil areas and FCs, both the high clay content at the soil surface and the associated high soil compaction ( R 2 = 0.82, Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preliminary soil excavations around healthy Triodia plants have already indicated that pavement termitaria are not causing the FCs (Getzin et al. , b), although a systematic survey had not yet been undertaken. Pavement termitaria, where hard termite chambers occur typically within 5 cm of the surface (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggestion was based on limited diggings in the field near the town of Newman-where only two FCs were excavated-and the conclusion that pavement termitaria, which may be level with the gap's surface, would "inhibit plant growth due to their hardness and resistance to surface water infiltration" (Walsh et al 2016). In contrast, preliminary excavations from alternative FC locations indicated that hard pavement termitaria are unlikely to be responsible for the formation of FCs (Getzin et al 2016b). However, to date, a systematic survey of the presence of underground termitaria in the FC area near Newman has not yet been undertaken.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In contrast, preliminary excavations from alternative FC locations indicated that hard pavement termitaria are unlikely to be responsible for the formation of FCs (Getzin et al. ). However, to date, a systematic survey of the presence of underground termitaria in the FC area near Newman has not yet been undertaken.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi‐scale study of Australian fairy circles using soil excavations and drone‐based image analysis

et al. 2019

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Fairy circles (FCs) are extremely ordered round patches of bare soil within arid grasslands of southwestern Africa and northwestern Australia. Their origin is disputed because biotic factors such as insects or abiotic factors such as edaphic and eco‐hydrological feedback mechanisms have been suggested to be causal. In this research, we used a multi‐scale approach to shed light on the origin of Australian FCs. At a local scale, we investigated the potential cause of FCs using analyses of soil compaction and texture within FCs, the surrounding matrix vegetation, and in nearby large bare‐soil areas. We found that soil hardness and clay content were similarly higher inside the FCs and in the large bare‐soil areas. When compared to the matrix soils with protective grass cover, the 2.6–2.8 times higher clay content in FCs and large bare‐soil areas is likely sourced via multiple abiotic weathering processes. Intense rainfall events, particle dispersion, surface heat, evaporation, and mechanical crust building inhibit plant growth in both areas. At the landscape scale, a systematic survey of 154 soil excavations within FCs was undertaken to evaluate the presence of pavement termitaria that could inhibit plant growth. We show that in up to 100% and most of the excavations per plot, no hard pavement termitaria were present in the FCs. This fact is substantiated by the observation that small, newly forming FCs are initiated on soft sand without evidence of termite activity. At the regional scale, we investigated the spatial properties of FCs and common termite‐created gaps in Western Australia, using spatially explicit statistics. We mapped three 25‐ha FC plots with a drone and compared them with three aerial images of typical vegetation gaps created by harvester and spinifex termites. We demonstrate that the small diameters, the lower ordering, and the heterogeneous patterns of these common termite gaps strongly differ from the unique spatial signature of FCs. Our multi‐scale approach emphasizes that FCs are not trivial termite gaps and that partial correlation with termites at some sites does not imply causation. Instead, we highlight the need to study the edaphic and eco‐hydrological drivers of vegetation‐pattern formation in water‐limited environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi‐scale study of Australian fairy circles using soil excavations and drone‐based image analysis

et al. 2019

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First Peoples’ knowledge leads scientists to reveal ‘fairy circles’ and termite linyji are linked in Australia

Walsh

Bidu²,

Bidu³

et al. 2023

Nat Ecol Evol

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In the past, when scientists encountered and studied ‘new’ environmental phenomena, they rarely considered the existing knowledge of First Peoples (also known as Indigenous or Aboriginal people). The scientific debate over the regularly spaced bare patches (so-called fairy circles) in arid grasslands of Australian deserts is a case in point. Previous researchers used remote sensing, numerical modelling, aerial images and field observations to propose that fairy circles arise from plant self-organization. Here we present Australian Aboriginal art and narratives, and soil excavation data, that suggest these regularly spaced, bare and hard circles in grasslands are pavement nests occupied by Drepanotermes harvester termites. These circles, called linyji (Manyjilyjarra language) or mingkirri (Warlpiri language), have been used by Aboriginal people in their food economies and for other domestic and sacred purposes across generations. Knowledge of the linyji has been encoded in demonstration and oral transmission, ritual art and ceremony and other media. While the exact origins of the bare circles are unclear, being buried in deep time and Jukurrpa, termites need to be incorporated as key players in a larger system of interactions between soil, water and grass. Ecologically transformative feedbacks across millennia of land use and manipulation by Aboriginal people must be accounted for. We argue that the co-production of knowledge can both improve the care and management of those systems and support intergenerational learning within and across diverse cultures.

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Australian fairy circles and termite linyji are not caused by the same mechanism

Getzin,

Yizhaq,

Muñoz-Rojas

et al. 2024

Nat Ecol Evol

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Reply to Walsh et al.: Hexagonal patterns of Australian fairy circles develop without correlation to termitaria

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

A multi‐scale study of Australian fairy circles using soil excavations and drone‐based image analysis

A multi‐scale study of Australian fairy circles using soil excavations and drone‐based image analysis

First Peoples’ knowledge leads scientists to reveal ‘fairy circles’ and termite linyji are linked in Australia

Australian fairy circles and termite linyji are not caused by the same mechanism

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