Bar Kutiel Pua, Katz Ofir, Dorman Michael
Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel.
Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Mt. Masada, Tamar Regional Council, Tamar 86910, Israel.
Plants (Basel). 2023 May 29;12(11):2151. doi: 10.3390/plants12112151.
Spatial heterogeneity affects plant community composition and diversity. It is particularly noticeable in annual plant communities, which vary in space and time over short distances and periods, forming meta-communities at the regional scale. This study was conducted at the coastal dune ecosystem in Nizzanim nature reserve, Israel. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the spatial heterogeneity, which is expressed in differences in the fixation levels of the dunes and patches outside and beneath the dominant shrubs, on the characteristics of the annual plant meta-community and its temporal stability, considering the mechanisms that may affect it. Thirteen dunes were studied: three mobile, seven semi-fixed, and three fixed dunes. Data on the annual plants were collected during the spring seasons of 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2016. For each dune, 72 quadrats of 40×40 cm were sampled yearly, with 24 quadrats per slope aspect (windward, leeward, and crest), 12 under the shrub, and 12 in the open. The results indicate that the transition from mobile dunes through semi-fixed to fixed dunes is characterized by an increase in annual plant cover, species richness, species diversity, changes in plant communities, and stability driven by the asynchrony of species population fluctuations. Asynchrony affected the stability of the meta-community of this ecosystem in patches beneath the shrubs but not in the open patches.
空间异质性影响植物群落的组成和多样性。这在一年生植物群落中尤为明显，这些群落在短距离和短时期内随空间和时间变化，在区域尺度上形成了集合群落。本研究在以色列尼扎尼姆自然保护区的海岸沙丘生态系统中进行。本研究旨在分析空间异质性的影响，这种异质性表现为沙丘以及优势灌木外部和下方斑块的固定水平差异，考虑到可能影响它的机制，研究其对一年生植物集合群落特征及其时间稳定性的影响。研究了13个沙丘：3个移动沙丘、7个半固定沙丘和3个固定沙丘。在2006年、2007年、2009年、2014年、2015年和2016年的春季收集了一年生植物的数据。对于每个沙丘，每年在72个40×40厘米的样方中进行采样，每个坡向（迎风坡、背风坡和顶部）有24个样方，灌木下有12个样方，开阔地有12个样方。结果表明，从移动沙丘到半固定沙丘再到固定沙丘的转变，其特征是一年生植物覆盖度增加、物种丰富度增加、物种多样性增加、植物群落变化以及由物种种群波动的异步性驱动的稳定性增加。异步性影响了该生态系统在灌木下方斑块中集合群落的稳定性，但在开阔斑块中没有影响。
