Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration
In high-altitude deserts, the vegetation is spatially structured as a mosaic of patches with vegetation and interpatches of bare soil. Shrub patches create microhabitats that facilitate the persistence of other organisms by ameliorating climate extremes and increasing soil nutrients and moisture. A...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Asociación Argentina de Ecología
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Ecología Austral |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/2292 |
| _version_ | 1797393071235661824 |
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| author | Natalia I. Yela Javier Torréns Antonella Y. Díaz Casas Juca A. San Martín Adriana Aranda-Rickert |
| author_facet | Natalia I. Yela Javier Torréns Antonella Y. Díaz Casas Juca A. San Martín Adriana Aranda-Rickert |
| author_sort | Natalia I. Yela |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In high-altitude deserts, the vegetation is spatially structured as a mosaic of patches with vegetation and interpatches of bare soil. Shrub patches create microhabitats that facilitate the persistence of other organisms by ameliorating climate extremes and increasing soil nutrients and moisture. Although this facilitative effect has been studied mainly on shrub understorey plants, the positive influence of desert shrubs may extend to the local arthropod community. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that plant facilitation by the desert shrub species Ephedra multiflora and E. breana positively influences the epigeal arthropod communities of the Andean Puna. We found that arthropod abundance, richness and diversity were all higher on Ephedra shrub microsites relative to paired open microsites. The harsh environmental conditions prevailing in the Puna ecosystems and the protection and resources provided by plants could jointly explain the positive influence of Ephedra shrubs over the arthropod community. The growth of tourism and the boom for lithium, as well as the increasing drought expected for the region under climate change scenarios, strengthens the importance of conserving shrub cover in these ecosystems to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our results are also relevant for restoration projects that consider the whole biological community, where using Ephedra as foundation shrubs to support desert endemics could be a strategy for land restoration.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:57:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e5ab7c5216d4d028b789b8ba8d24bb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0327-5477 1667-782X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:57:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Asociación Argentina de Ecología |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecología Austral |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e5ab7c5216d4d028b789b8ba8d24bb92023-12-13T00:27:36ZengAsociación Argentina de EcologíaEcología Austral0327-54771667-782X2023-11-0133310.25260/EA.23.33.3.0.2292Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restorationNatalia I. Yela0Javier Torréns1Antonella Y. Díaz Casas2Juca A. San Martín3Adriana Aranda-Rickert4Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-CONICET). La Rioja, ArgentinaCentro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-CONICET). La Rioja, ArgentinaCentro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-CONICET). La Rioja, ArgentinaCentro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-CONICET). La Rioja, ArgentinaCentro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR-CONICET). La Rioja, Argentina In high-altitude deserts, the vegetation is spatially structured as a mosaic of patches with vegetation and interpatches of bare soil. Shrub patches create microhabitats that facilitate the persistence of other organisms by ameliorating climate extremes and increasing soil nutrients and moisture. Although this facilitative effect has been studied mainly on shrub understorey plants, the positive influence of desert shrubs may extend to the local arthropod community. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that plant facilitation by the desert shrub species Ephedra multiflora and E. breana positively influences the epigeal arthropod communities of the Andean Puna. We found that arthropod abundance, richness and diversity were all higher on Ephedra shrub microsites relative to paired open microsites. The harsh environmental conditions prevailing in the Puna ecosystems and the protection and resources provided by plants could jointly explain the positive influence of Ephedra shrubs over the arthropod community. The growth of tourism and the boom for lithium, as well as the increasing drought expected for the region under climate change scenarios, strengthens the importance of conserving shrub cover in these ecosystems to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our results are also relevant for restoration projects that consider the whole biological community, where using Ephedra as foundation shrubs to support desert endemics could be a strategy for land restoration. https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/2292shrub microhabitatarthropod islandshigh-mountain deserts |
| spellingShingle | Natalia I. Yela Javier Torréns Antonella Y. Díaz Casas Juca A. San Martín Adriana Aranda-Rickert Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration Ecología Austral shrub microhabitat arthropod islands high-mountain deserts |
| title | Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| title_full | Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| title_fullStr | Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| title_short | Ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the Andean Puna: Implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| title_sort | ephedra shrubs facilitate local arthropod communities in the andean puna implications for conservation and habitat restoration |
| topic | shrub microhabitat arthropod islands high-mountain deserts |
| url | https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/2292 |
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