Woody plant encroachment of grassland and the reversibility of shrub dominance: Erosion, fire, and feedback processes

Many grass‐dominated ecosystems in dryland regions have experienced increasing woody plant density and abundance during the past century. In many cases, this process has led to land degradation and declines in ecosystem functions. An example is the Chihuahuan Desert in the southwestern United States...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEcosphere (Washington, D.C) Vol. 13; no. 3
Main Authors Li, Junran, Ravi, Sujith, Wang, Guan, Van Pelt, R. Scott, Gill, Thomas E., Sankey, Joel B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2022
Wiley
Subjects
Arid zones
Climate change
Deserts
drylands
Ecosystems
Encroachment
Environmental degradation
erosion
fire
Grasses
Grasslands
grazing
land degradation
Land use
Planting density
Prescribed fire
Sediments
Soil erosion
Vegetation
Wildlife sanctuaries
Wind
Woody plants
New Mexico
United States > US
Chihuahuan Desert
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Summary:Many grass‐dominated ecosystems in dryland regions have experienced increasing woody plant density and abundance during the past century. In many cases, this process has led to land degradation and declines in ecosystem functions. An example is the Chihuahuan Desert in the southwestern United States, which experienced different stages of shrub encroachment in the past 150 years. Among a wide variety of mechanisms to explain the grass–shrub transitions in this dryland system, soil erosion (both wind and water) and fire are particularly well studied. Here, we synthesize recent developments on the drivers and feedback in the process of shrub encroachment in the Chihuahuan Desert through the intercomparison of two Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites, namely Jornada and Sevilleta. Experimental and modeling studies support a conceptual framework, which underscores the important roles of erosion and fire in woody plant encroachment. Collectively, research at the Jornada LTER provided complementary, quantitative support to the well‐known fertile‐islands framework. Studies at the Sevilleta LTER expanded the framework, adding fire as a major disturbance to woody plants. Conceptual models derived from the synthesis represent the general understanding of shrub encroachment that emerged from research at these two sites, and can guide management interventions aimed at reducing or mitigating undesirable ecosystem state change in many other drylands worldwide.
ISSN:2150-8925
2150-8925
DOI:10.1002/ecs2.3949