In arid and semi-arid ecosystems that are frequently classified as water limited, it is unclear how spatial and temporal variability of vegetation and climate could affect microbially-mediated soil processes. Our objective ...

While considerable attention has been devoted to how precipitation modulates net primary productivity in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the emergence of multi-faceted controls on carbon (C) turnover suggests that there is ...

1. The coexistence of shrubs and grasses has intrigued ecologists for the past century, and the conundrum of shrub-grass coexistence is at the core of debates on the functioning of semi-arid ecosystems. Here, we explored ...

Geologic events promoting the aridization of southern South America contributed to lineage divergences and species differentiation through geographic (allopatric divergence) and biotic and abiotic factors (ecological ...

1. Ants provide multiple ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling. Although most studies on nests effects on soil fertility and plant performance include species with large nests, species with less apparent nests may ...

Fire severity influences the recovery and biodiversity of plant communities. We compared the early post-fire recovery of plant functional groups in two sites (one burnt with high severity and one with low severity) in the ...

Aims: In arid communities, it has been proposed that individual plants can extend their roots beyond their canopy exploring neighbouring bare ground areas. This becomes relevant in systems where the vegetation is distributed ...

We revisited a growth-form removal experiment after 12 years with the aim to compare the long-term population responses of three shrub species. Specifically, we were interested to know if the resource partitioning and plant ...

Livestock grazing has degraded many arid and semi-arid rangelands around the world, and the drier climate predicted by climate change scenarios may amplify these effects and even lead to catastrophic vegetation shifts. We ...