The Colonization of Bare Areas in Two-Phase Mosaics of an Arid Ecosystem

Abstract

Two-phase mosaics (densely vegetated patches regularly alternating with almost bare areas) occur on smooth slopes of many arid lands of the world as a result of rainwater redistribution through sheet-flow run off. This paper reports the vegetation dynamics (through synchronic and diachronic approaches) of both the upslope and downslope fringes of vegetated patches (vegetation arcs) located in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico. Ten vegetation arcs were used in a synchronic study and one of them in an B-year diachronic study (1982-90) (...)