干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia

Arid

DOI	10.1007/s10980-021-01358-9
	High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia
	Getzin, Stephan; Loens, Christian; Yizhaq, Hezi; Erickson, Todd E.; Munoz-Rojas, Miriam; Huth, Andreas; Wiegand, Kerstin
通讯作者	Getzin, S (corresponding author), Univ Goettingen, Gottingen, Germany.
来源期刊	LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY
ISSN	0921-2973
EISSN	1572-9761
出版年	2022
英文摘要	Context Vegetation patterns in hummock grasslands of Australia's arid interior can be very complex. Additionally, the grasslands are interspersed with variable amounts of trees and shrubs. Objectives To better understand the spatial arrangement of this vegetation structure, and in particular the unvegetated bare-soil gaps, we analyzed the scale-dependent patterns of gaps, trees, and shrubs. Methods We focused on two size categories of grassland gaps, large gaps >= 4 m(2) known as fairy circles (FCs) and small gaps 1 to < 4 m(2), and on trees and shrubs. We mapped four 200 m x 200 m study plots located east of the town of Newman in Western Australia, using drone-based aerial images and LiDAR. The RGB images were converted into binary images and the gaps and woody plants were automatically segmented. The spatial patterns of the four vegetation components were analyzed, as well as the shape properties of the vegetation gaps. Results The most striking result was that small gaps appeared consistently at about 5 m distance away from the FCs, which are known as the most water-depleted locations in the grassland. The FCs were also rounder than the small gaps and this symmetry underlines their function as an extra source of water for the surrounding matrix vegetation. Trees and shrubs had spatial patterns that were unrelated to FCs, which likely results from their water uptake in deeper sub-soil layers. Conclusions The consistent distance of small gaps to FCs is further support that the Australian fairy circles are a self-organized vegetation pattern that results from ecohydrological feedbacks.
英文关键词	Australia Fairy circles Gap shape complexity index LiDAR Triodia UAV
类型	Article
语种	英语
开放获取类型	hybrid
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000714313900001
WOS关键词	CIRCLES ; DESERT ; FACILITATION ; MODELS
WOS类目	Ecology ; Geography, Physical ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Physical Geography ; Geology
来源机构	Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ; University of Western Australia
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/367715
作者单位	[Getzin, Stephan; Loens, Christian; Wiegand, Kerstin] Univ Goettingen, Gottingen, Germany; [Getzin, Stephan; Huth, Andreas] UFZ Helmholtz Ctr Environm Res, Leipzig, Germany; [Yizhaq, Hezi] Ben Gurion Univ Negev, Sede Boqer, Israel; [Erickson, Todd E.; Munoz-Rojas, Miriam] Univ Western Australia, Crawley, Australia; [Erickson, Todd E.; Munoz-Rojas, Miriam] Kings Pk Sci, Dept Biodivers Conservat & Attract, Perth, WA, Australia; [Munoz-Rojas, Miriam] UNSW Sydney, Ctr Ecosyst Sci, Sydney, NSW, Australia
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Getzin, Stephan,Loens, Christian,Yizhaq, Hezi,et al. High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia[J]. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, University of Western Australia,2022.
APA	Getzin, Stephan.,Loens, Christian.,Yizhaq, Hezi.,Erickson, Todd E..,Munoz-Rojas, Miriam.,...&Wiegand, Kerstin.(2022).High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia.LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY.
MLA	Getzin, Stephan,et al."High-resolution images and drone-based LiDAR reveal striking patterns of vegetation gaps in a wooded spinifex grassland of Western Australia".LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY (2022).