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The fertile island effect varies with aridity and plant patch type across an extensive continental gradient
Plant and Soil ( IF 4.9 ) Pub Date : 2020-11-03 , DOI: 10.1007/s11104-020-04731-w
Jingyi Ding , David J. Eldridge

Perennial plants play important roles in maintaining ecosystem functions by forming fertile islands beneath their canopies. Little is known about how the fertile island effect varies among different patch types and across climatic gradients, or what drives the strength of its effect. We assessed biotic (plants, biocrusts, litter) and abiotic (soil infiltrability, labile carbon, enzymes) fertile island effects beneath three plant patch types (tree, shrub and grass patches), and collected data on biotic (canopy size, grazing intensity) and abiotic (soil texture, electrical conductivity and pH) drivers at 150 sites along an extensive aridity gradient in eastern Australia. The fertile island effect was generally apparent beneath trees, shrubs and grasses, with biotic (plants) and abiotic (soils) attributes regulated differently by plant canopy size. The fertile island effect intensified with increasing aridity, with the greatest litter and soil resources accumulated beneath trees. Our study provides evidence of the fertile island effect across the whole spectrum of the aridity gradient, with the effect depending on the target attribute and plant patch type. Forecasted increases in aridity will likely strengthen the fertile island effect beneath trees, reinforcing the importance of trees in drier environments to support critical ecosystem functions and services.

中文翻译:

肥沃的岛屿效应在广阔的大陆梯度上随着干旱和植物斑块类型而变化

多年生植物通过在其冠层下形成肥沃的岛屿,在维持生态系统功能方面发挥着重要作用。关于肥沃岛效应如何在不同斑块类型和跨气候梯度之间变化,或者是什么驱动了其效应的强度,我们知之甚少。我们评估了三种植物斑块类型(乔木、灌木和草斑块)下的生物(植物、生物结壳、凋落物)和非生物(土壤渗透性、不稳定碳、酶)肥沃岛屿效应,并收集了生物(冠层大小、放牧强度)的数据和非生物(土壤质地、电导率和 pH 值)驱动因素在澳大利亚东部沿广泛干旱梯度的 150 个地点。肥沃的岛屿效应在树木、灌木和草丛下通常很明显,生物(植物)和非生物(土壤)属性受植物冠层大小的不同调节。肥沃的岛屿效应随着干旱程度的增加而加剧,树木下积累了最多的枯枝落叶和土壤资源。我们的研究提供了整个干旱梯度范围内肥沃岛效应的证据,其效应取决于目标属性和植物斑块类型。预测的干旱增加可能会加强树木下肥沃的岛屿效应,从而加强干燥环境中树木对支持关键生态系统功能和服务的重要性。
更新日期:2020-11-03
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