title: Ecological feedbacks. Termite mounds can increase the robustness of dryland ecosystems to climatic change.
abstract: Self-organized spatial vegetation patterning is widespread and has been described using models of scale-dependent feedback between plants and water on homogeneous substrates. As rainfall decreases, these models yield a characteristic sequence of patterns with increasingly sparse vegetation, followed by sudden collapse to desert. Thus, the final, spot-like pattern may provide early warning for such catastrophic shifts. In many arid ecosystems, however, termite nests impart substrate heterogeneity by altering soil properties, thereby enhancing plant growth. We show that termite-induced heterogeneity interacts with scale-dependent feedbacks to produce vegetation patterns at different spatial grains. Although the coarse-grained patterning resembles that created by scale-dependent feedback alone, it does not indicate imminent desertification. Rather, mound-field landscapes are more robust to aridity, suggesting that termites may help stabilize ecosystems under global change.
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Juan A
authors: JA
authors: Bonachela
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Mpala Research Centre, Post Office Box 555, Nanyuki, Kenya.
authors: Robert M
authors: RM
authors: Pringle
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Efrat
authors: E
authors: Sheffer
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Tyler C
authors: TC
authors: Coverdale
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Jennifer A
authors: JA
authors: Guyton
authors: Mpala Research Centre, Post Office Box 555, Nanyuki, Kenya. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Kelly K
authors: KK
authors: Caylor
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors: Simon A
authors: SA
authors: Levin
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Mpala Research Centre, Post Office Box 555, Nanyuki, Kenya. ctarnita@princeton.edu.
authors: Corina E
authors: CE
authors: Tarnita
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003889:Desert Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D005246:Feedback; D020049:Isoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D063245:Plant Development; D011891:Rain; D012987:Soil; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014867:Water