Abstract
Three strip transects, each ca 100 contiguous 0.5×1 m2 quadrats, were sampled during the spring bloom of March 1981 across four surface structural units of a Negev Desert research watershed at Sede Boqer, Israel. Presence of all vascular plants was recorded. Data were subjected to detrended correspondence analysis (DCA ordination), and resulting spatial patterns of species distribution and abundance were compared. Large-scale gradients of vegetation were related to differences in soil moisture availability among the four structural units. Where micro-scale vegetation patterns were important, these correlated with rock and crevice microtopography. Species richness was influenced by high numbers of therophytes on the dry upper slope of the watershed and their reduced importance on the lower three units. Relationships between vegetational patterns and known ecosystem properties of the watershed are discussed.
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This paper is dedicated to the memories of the senior author's husband, Robert H. Whittaker, and father, Edward E. Olsvig, who anticipated and encouraged the early stages of this research.
Nomenclature follows Zohary (1962).
We thank the staff of the Desert Research Institute at Sede Boqer for facilities and field assistance in the execution of the transect work for this study. In particular, we wish to thank Dr Yitzchak Gutterman, Ms Jael Bar, and Mr Bert Boeken for their help in the field and identification of species. We also thank Dr Avinoam Danin for help with species identification. Computer analyses were conducted by the senior author at Cornell University, where we thank Mr Hugh Gauch, Jr., for advice and assistance with the computer programs, and his comments on interpretation of the data. We thank Dr Danin and Prof. Zev Naveh for advice and comment.
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Olsvig-Whittaker, L., Shachak, M. & Yair, A. Vegetation patterns related to environmental factors in a Negev Desert watershed. Vegetatio 54, 153–165 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00047104
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00047104