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Encroachment of the shrub Prosopis glandulosa Torr. (honey mesquite) into semi-arid grasslands is a serious concern in the south-western United States, yet little is known about the long-term dynamics of the invasion process. We used ten high-resolution aerial and satellite images taken from 1936 to 1996 to track the population dynamics and spatial pattern of all P. glandulosa greater than 2 m in diameter on a 75 ha area in southern New Mexico. Shrub cover and patch numbers increased from 1936 to the 1970s, then stabilized at 43% cover and 83 patches ha?1. Individual patches were extremely persistent: 95% of the area occupied by shrub patches in 1936 was still occupied in 1996. Recruitment into the 2 m size class...
Geostatistical analyses show that the distribution of soil N, P and K is strongly associated with the presence of shrubs in desert habitats. Shrubs concentrate the biogeochemical cycle of these elements in ?islands of fertility? that are localized beneath their canopies, while adjacent barren, intershrub spaces are comparatively devoid of biotic activity. Both physical and biological processes are involved in the formation of shrub islands. Losses of semiarid grassland in favor of invading shrubs initiate these changes in the distribution of soil nutrients, which may promote the further invasion and persistence of shrubs and cause potential feedbacks between desertification and the Earth's climate system. Published...
The Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, USA, has changed in historical times from semiarid grassland to desert shrublands dominated by Larrea tridentata and Prosopis glandulosa. Similar displacement of perennial grasslands by shrubs typifies desertification in many regions. Such structural vegetation change could alter average values of net primary productivity, as well as spatial and temporal patterns of production. We investigated patterns of aboveground plant biomass and net primary production in five ecosystem types of the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. Comparisons of shrub-dominated desertified systems and remnant grass-dominated systems allowed us to test the prediction that shrublands...