Markovian Dynamics of Simple and Complex Desert Plant Communities
McAuliffe JR. 1988. Markovian Dynamics of Simple and Complex Desert Plant Communities. The American Naturalist. 131(4):459-490
Between April 1985 and September 1986, the author studied spatial distribution, population turnover, recruitment pattern, and plant community structure within an eight hectare study area in the Sonoran desert, Arizona. They recorded desert plant species, proportion of canopy cover, population density, mortality rate, estimated ages, and distance between plants. They found that simple plant communities in this area mostly consist of two species, Ambrosia and Larrea, which have different patterns of recruitment and rates of population turnover. Most of the desert area is open space and Ambrosia, not Larrea, is capable of colonizing this open space. However, recruitment of Larrea occurs mostly beneath canopies of large, older Ambrosia. The underlying environmental mechanisms influencing this transition are addressed in this paper as well as simple digraphs showing the Larrea-Ambrosia communities.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- McAuliffe, Joseph
- Units
- JOTR , ORPI
- Keywords
- Ambrosia dumosa, Competition, creosote, desert plant communities, Larrea tridentata, markovian dynamics, Mortality, Plant Succession, Population turnover, Recruitment, Shrubs, Sonoran Desert, Spatial Distribution, Taxa Links To References, temporal pattern, Trees, Vegetation