Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands

Fernando T. Maestre, Matthew A. Bowker, María D. Puche, M. Belén Hinojosa, Isabel Martínez, Pablo García-Palacios, Andrea P. Castillo, Santiago Soliveres, Arántzazu L. Luzuriaga, Ana M. Sánchez, José A. Carreira, Antonio Gallardo, Adrián Escudero

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

327 Scopus citations

Abstract

The worldwide phenomenon of shrub encroachment in grass-dominated dryland ecosystems is commonly associated with desertification. Studies of the purported desertification effects associated with shrub encroachment are often restricted to relatively few study areas, and document a narrow range of possible impacts upon biota and ecosystem processes. We conducted a study in degraded Mediterranean grasslands dominated by Stipa tenacissima to simultaneously evaluate the effects of shrub encroachment on the structure and composition of multiple biotic community components, and on various indicators of ecosystem function. Shrub encroachment enhanced vascular plant richness, biomass of fungi, actinomycetes and other bacteria, and was linked with greater soil fertility and N mineralization rates. While shrub encroachment may be a widespread phenomenon in drylands, an interpretation that this is an expression of desertification is not universal. Our results suggest that shrub establishment may be an important step in the reversal of desertification processes in the Mediterranean region.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)930-941
Number of pages12
JournalEcology letters
Volume12
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2009

Keywords

  • Desertification
  • Ecosystem functioning
  • Global change
  • Mediterranean
  • Plant successional dynamics
  • Semi-arid
  • Shrub encroachment
  • Stipa tenacissima

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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