干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): The fairy circles (circular barren patches) of the Namib Desert-What do we know about their cause 50 years after their first description?

Arid

DOI	10.1016/j.sajb.2021.04.008
	The fairy circles (circular barren patches) of the Namib Desert-What do we know about their cause 50 years after their first description?
	Meyer, J. J. Marion; Schutte, C. S.; Galt, N.; Hurter, J. W.; Meyer, N. L.
通讯作者	Meyer, JJM (corresponding author), Univ Pretoria, Dept Plant & Soil Sci, Pretoria, South Africa.
来源期刊	SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
ISSN	0254-6299
EISSN	1727-9321
出版年	2021
卷号	140 页码:226-239
英文摘要	Since they were described for the first time 50 years ago, more than 30 peer-reviewed papers have been pub-lished on a number of extremely diverse theories as the cause of the formation of hundreds of thousands of nearly circular barren patches (fairy circles) found in southwestern Angola, Namibia and northwestern South Africa. However, scientists interested in finding an explanation for the cause and maintenance of these fairy circles in the driest parts of the world are still without agreement on the true reason(s) behind this intriguing phenomenon. In this review we firstly present the four main theories and explain their hypotheses on the formation and/or maintenance of fairy circles. Secondly, we summarise the previously described physical characteristics of the fairy circles, e.g. soil substrate, moisture content, shape, size, lifespan, dynamics and spatial patterning, and then present the supporting evidence as published by the proponents of the theories on vegetation self-arrangement, insects/ants, gas and Euphorbia allelopathy, as the causative drivers of this natural phenomenon. We also present the critical views of scientists on the theories they are not supporting. (c) 2021 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
英文关键词	Fairy circles Namib desert Barren circular patches plant-plant interactions Plant-soil interactions allelopathy
类型	Review
语种	英语
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000691518900029
WOS关键词	TERMITE HODOTERMES-MOSSAMBICUS ; MYSTERIOUS CIRCLES ; SELF-ORGANIZATION ; HYPOTHESES ; PATTERNS ; ORIGIN
WOS类目	Plant Sciences
WOS研究方向	Plant Sciences
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/364718
作者单位	[Meyer, J. J. Marion; Schutte, C. S.; Galt, N.; Hurter, J. W.; Meyer, N. L.] Univ Pretoria, Dept Plant & Soil Sci, Pretoria, South Africa
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Meyer, J. J. Marion,Schutte, C. S.,Galt, N.,et al. The fairy circles (circular barren patches) of the Namib Desert-What do we know about their cause 50 years after their first description?[J],2021,140:226-239.
APA	Meyer, J. J. Marion,Schutte, C. S.,Galt, N.,Hurter, J. W.,&Meyer, N. L..(2021).The fairy circles (circular barren patches) of the Namib Desert-What do we know about their cause 50 years after their first description?.SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY,140,226-239.
MLA	Meyer, J. J. Marion,et al."The fairy circles (circular barren patches) of the Namib Desert-What do we know about their cause 50 years after their first description?".SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 140(2021):226-239.