Soil hydraulic properties and water source-sink relations affect plant rings’ formation and sizes under arid conditions

Herooty, Yair; Bar, Pua; Yizhaq, Hezi; Katz, Ofir

doi:10.1016/j.flora.2020.151664

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Getzin et al (2019) also found that the texture and compaction (both factors that affect moisture absorption into soil) of soil inside Triodia rings were not significantly different to that found in bare soil areas outside the rings. Finally, the proposed mechanisms through which water availability might cause ring-formation are not consistent across sites or species (Getzin et al 2016;Herooty et al 2020). Experimental work on the role of water availability in ring-formation would be a worthwhile next step, but this is not the goal of the present study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Most current work on ring-formation in plants in arid ecosystem tends to favour water-limitation as a mechanism (Getzin et al 2016;Yizhaq et al 2019;Herooty et al 2020), whereas evidence for the importance of soil microbes tends to come from more mesic environments (e.g. Bonanomi et al 2005Bonanomi et al , 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fact that many ring-forming species occur in arid ecosystems has led some researchers to suggest that water availability might drive ring-formation in some species (Getzin et al 2016;Yizhaq et al 2019;Herooty et al 2020). Although models and observational data are consistent with this idea in some ecosystems, other researchers have noted that ring-formation also occurs in several ecosystems in which water limitation is highly unlikely to be important, including salt-marshes and alluvial grasslands (Cartenì et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The contribution of pathogenic soil microbes to ring formation in an iconic Australian arid grass,

Ross

Moles

2021

Aust. J. Bot.

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Ring-forming species of spinifex grasses (Triodia spp.) are a dominant feature across much of Australia's arid and semi-arid zone. Researchers have long been curious about the mechanisms underpinning their striking growth form. However, none of the factors investigated to date provide a convincing explanation for ring formation. Here, we asked whether an accumulation of pathogenic soil microbes might impede seedling emergence and subsequent growth in the centre of Triodia basedowii rings. We collected soil from inside and outside naturally occurring spinifex rings and compared plants grown in soil with live microbes to plants grown in sterilised soil. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that emergence of T. basedowii seedlings was lower in live soil from inside the rings than in live soil from outside the rings. Further, seedling emergence in soil from inside the rings increased significantly in response to soil sterilisation. We found no significant difference in growth between sterile and live soils. However, this might be due to a lack of power caused by high rates of seedling mortality in all treatments. Overall, our study provides evidence for the role of soil pathogens in shaping this iconic Australian grass.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The contribution of pathogenic soil microbes to ring formation in an iconic Australian arid grass,

Ross

Moles

2021

Aust. J. Bot.

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“…Plant rings such as the large Triodia rings (or spinifex‐grass rings) in Australia originate mostly from a single older plant that expands laterally over long periods, whereby mechanisms such as microbial pathogen effects in the center of the plant may induce the ring (Ross & Moles, 2021). Other reasons for plant‐ring formation in arid environments are, for example, negative feedbacks between sediment deposition and vegetation growth inside the grass, which leads to central dieback in grasses of the Chihuahuan desert (Ravi et al, 2008) and in Asphodelus ramosus geophytes of the Negev Desert in Israel (Herooty et al, 2020; Yizhaq et al, 2019). A central dieback may also be due to increasing water uptake by newly recruited individuals at the patch periphery, which explains ring formation in Poa grasses in the dry‐Mediterranean climate or in creosote bushes in Californian desert (Sheffer et al, 2007, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asphodelus ramosus geophytes of the Negev Desert in Israel (Herooty et al, 2020;Yizhaq et al, 2019). A central dieback may also be due to increasing water uptake by newly recruited individuals at the patch periphery, which explains ring formation in Poa grasses in the dry-Mediterranean climate or in creosote bushes in Californian desert (Sheffer et al, 2007(Sheffer et al, , 2011.…”

Section: And Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Definition of “fairy circles” and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings

Getzin

Yizhaq

Tschinkel

2021

J Vegetation Science

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Aims The fairy circles along the Namib Desert in southern Africa are round grassland gaps that have puzzled scientists for about 50 years. With the discovery of fairy circles in Australia in 2016, the debate on the origin of the circles has been extended to a new continent. Research interest on the topic has since then risen strongly but so has the use of the term “fairy circle”. This term has become more imprecise and, by analogy, has been applied to circular vegetation gaps or plant rings that are largely unrelated to fairy circles. For this reason, we define the concept of fairy circles by identifying their three main characteristics based on in situ field observations and soil excavations to larger‐scale spatial patterns, and regional‐scale distribution. Results Following this approach, fairy circles are defined by: (a) being “empty gaps” in grassland without a central insect‐nest structure; (b) their ability to form spatially periodic patterns, which are regular hexagonal patterns with an extraordinary degree of spatial ordering; and (c) their strongly regional distribution confined within a narrow arid climatic envelope. In these combined traits, fairy circles differ from other common vegetation gaps which, for example, always have a central insect‐nest structure and may occur across broad climatic gradients on continents. Also plant rings have their own specific characteristics that largely differ from the combined attributes of genuine fairy circles. Conclusions There are many other vegetation‐gap patterns in arid lands but if such gaps cannot jointly show the three characteristics defining the fairy circles, they should be carefully discussed on their own, rather than mixing them up with fairy circles. Our synthesis provides a new etymology for the different types of vegetation gaps and rings, aiming to guide the reader through various classes of circular plant patterns.

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Ring formation in Stipagrostis obtusa in the arid north-eastern Negev, Israel

Yizhaq

Stavi

2023

Flora

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Soil hydraulic properties and water source-sink relations affect plant rings’ formation and sizes under arid conditions

Cited by 7 publications

References 40 publications

The contribution of pathogenic soil microbes to ring formation in an iconic Australian arid grass,

The contribution of pathogenic soil microbes to ring formation in an iconic Australian arid grass,

Definition of “fairy circles” and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings

Ring formation in Stipagrostis obtusa in the arid north-eastern Negev, Israel

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