干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Definition of fairy circles and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings

Arid

DOI	10.1111/jvs.13092
	Definition of fairy circles and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings
	Getzin, Stephan; Yizhaq, Hezi; Tschinkel, Walter R.
通讯作者	Getzin, S (corresponding author)，Univ Goettingen, Dept Ecosyst Modelling, Gottingen, Germany.
来源期刊	JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
ISSN	1100-9233
EISSN	1654-1103
出版年	2021
卷号	32 期号:6
英文摘要	Aims The fairy circles along the Namib Desert in southern Africa are round grassland gaps that have puzzled scientists for about 50 years. With the discovery of fairy circles in Australia in 2016, the debate on the origin of the circles has been extended to a new continent. Research interest on the topic has since then risen strongly but so has the use of the term fairy circle. This term has become more imprecise and, by analogy, has been applied to circular vegetation gaps or plant rings that are largely unrelated to fairy circles. For this reason, we define the concept of fairy circles by identifying their three main characteristics based on in situ field observations and soil excavations to larger-scale spatial patterns, and regional-scale distribution. Results Following this approach, fairy circles are defined by: (a) being empty gaps in grassland without a central insect-nest structure; (b) their ability to form spatially periodic patterns, which are regular hexagonal patterns with an extraordinary degree of spatial ordering; and (c) their strongly regional distribution confined within a narrow arid climatic envelope. In these combined traits, fairy circles differ from other common vegetation gaps which, for example, always have a central insect-nest structure and may occur across broad climatic gradients on continents. Also plant rings have their own specific characteristics that largely differ from the combined attributes of genuine fairy circles. Conclusions There are many other vegetation-gap patterns in arid lands but if such gaps cannot jointly show the three characteristics defining the fairy circles, they should be carefully discussed on their own, rather than mixing them up with fairy circles. Our synthesis provides a new etymology for the different types of vegetation gaps and rings, aiming to guide the reader through various classes of circular plant patterns.
英文关键词	aridity collective plant rings fairy circles fungal fairy rings hexagonal grid Namib Desert nearest neighbor rainfall spatial periodicity tussock rings vegetation gaps Western Australia
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:000734882300003
WOS关键词	NAMIB DESERT ; SELF-ORGANIZATION ; SPATIAL-PATTERNS ; KAOKOLAND ; ORIGIN ; FORM
WOS类目	Plant Sciences ; Ecology ; Forestry
WOS研究方向	Plant Sciences ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Forestry
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/375879
作者单位	[Getzin, Stephan] Univ Goettingen, Dept Ecosyst Modelling, Gottingen, Germany; [Getzin, Stephan] UFZ Helmholtz Ctr Environm Res, Dept Ecol Modelling, Leipzig, Germany; [Yizhaq, Hezi] Ben Gurion Univ Negev, Blaustein Inst Desert Res, Dept Solar Energy & Environm Phys, Beer Sheva, Israel; [Tschinkel, Walter R.] Florida State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, B-157, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Getzin, Stephan,Yizhaq, Hezi,Tschinkel, Walter R.. Definition of fairy circles and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings[J],2021,32(6).
APA	Getzin, Stephan,Yizhaq, Hezi,&Tschinkel, Walter R..(2021).Definition of fairy circles and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings.JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE,32(6).
MLA	Getzin, Stephan,et al."Definition of fairy circles and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings".JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE 32.6(2021).