Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Persistence in Sarcopoterium spinosum dwarf-shrub communities

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Our study aimed at identifying mechanisms that permit the long-termpersistence of Sarcopoterium spinosum, a dwarf-shrub thatdominates large areas of hilly landscape in eastern Mediterranean countries.Data were obtained from 16 1×1 m quadrats distributed amongwell-established S. spinosum communities in Israel thathadnot been burned or otherwise disturbed for well over 20 years. We sampled threecommunities that represent different climatic and habitat conditions andanalysed the growth rings in the root crowns of 604 uprooted plants, todetermine the age structures of the sampled stands. Many older'shrubs’ that appeared to be individual plantswere in fact clusters of ramets with their root crowns concentrated in a verysmall area. The morphology of these ramets indicates that they arose by rootingof peripheral stems. Seedlings and young plants were rare. Ramets seldomexceeded 17 years of age, although a few were 18–21 years old and one had34 growth rings. The average ramet age on the different sites varied between 9and 11 years. The ramets appeared to separate from the mother plant when theywere older than 7 years, after which they had an estimated average half-life ofca. 2.8 years. Young shrubs grew rapidly in height, but their basal cover waslow; it increased when they were much older, presumably as the older plantsdied. Consequently, three or four cohorts of older ramets between 12 and 17years old often dominated stand cover. The continuing profuse production ofseeds even where seedlingrecruitment is normally rare could be related to the relatively short averagelife-span of the ramets. We conclude that where resources are irregularlydistributed and establishment sites are fully occupied by perennial species,localised phalanx-type clonal proliferation can reduce the risk of genetextinction. On favourable sites this strategy confers upon S.spinosum genets the tenacity required to hold off replacement byother species and to dominate large areas of the landscape for much longer thanthe average life span of individual ramets.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avise J.C. 1994. Molecular markers, natural history and evolution. Chapman & Hall, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch U. 1986. The late Holocene vegetational history of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel. Paléorient 12: 37-48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch U. 1990. Palynological evidence of human impact on the vegetation as recorded in Late Holocene lake sediments in Israel. In: Bottema S., Entjes-Nieborg G. and van Zeist W. (eds), Man’s role in the shaping of the eastern Mediterranean landscape. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 283-293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayin A. 1967. Hydrology of formations from Cenomanian-Turonian age in the central-eastern Galilee. M.Sc., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentor Y.K., Vroman A. and Zak I. 1965. Geological map of Israel - Southern Sheet. Israel Survey Department, Tel Aviv.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie C., Houle G. and Fortin M.-J. 1995. Development of a Populus balsamiferaclone in subartic Québec reconstructd form spatial analyses. Journal of Ecology 83: 309-320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook R.E. 1983. Clonal plant populations. American Scientist 71: 244-253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day R.T., Keddy P.A., McNeill J. and Carleton T. 1988. Fertility and disturbance gradients, a summary model for riverine marsh vegetation. Ecology 69: 1044-1054.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Kroon H. and van Groenendael J. 1990. Regulation and function of clonal growth in plants: an evaluation. In: van Groenendael J. and de Kroon H. (eds), Clonal Growth in Plants: Regulation and Function. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp. 177-186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eig A. 1946. Synopsis of the phytogeographical units of Palestine. Palestine Journal of Botany (Jerusalem Series) 3: 183-246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O. 1997. Clonal life histories and the evolution of seed recruitment. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 211-226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O. and Froborg H. 1996. 'Windows of opportunity’ for recruitment in long-lived clonal plants: experimental studies of seedling establishment in Vaccinumshrubs. Canadian Journal of Botany 74: 1369-1374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O. and Jerling L. 1990. Hierarchical selection and risk spreading in clonal plants. In: van Groenendael J. and de Kroon H. (eds), Clonal Growth in Plants: Regulation and Function. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp. 79-94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espelta J.M., Riba M. and Retama J. 1995. Patterns of seedling recruitment in West-Mediterranean Quercus ilexforests influenced by canopy development. Journal of Vegetation Science 6: 465-472.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahn A. 1953. Annual wood ring development in maquis trees of Israel. Palestine Journal of Botany (Jerusalem Series) 6: 1-26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahn A., Wachs N. and Ginzburg C. 1963. Dendrochronological studies in the Negev. Israel Exploration Journal 13: 291-299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flinn R.C., Archer S.T., Boutton W. and Harlan T. 1994. Identifi-cation of annual rings in the arid land woody plant Prosopis glandulosa. Ecology 75: 850-853.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritts H.C. and Swetnam T.W. 1989. Dendroecology: a tool for evaluating variations in past and present forest environments. Advances in Ecological Research 19: 111-188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilboa N. 1996. The negative effects of tannins and its neutralization in livestock. Ph.D., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsberg C. 1963. Some anatomical features of splitting of desert shrubs. Phytomorphology 13: 92-97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb P.J. 1985. Plant populations and vegetation in relation to habitat, disturbance and competition: problems of generalization. In: White J. (ed.), The population structure of vegetation. Junk, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 595-621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanes T. 1977. California chaparral. In: Barbour M.G. and Major J. (eds), Terrestrial vegetation of California. Wiley, New York, NY, pp. 595-621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper J.L. 1977. Population biology of plants. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henkin Z. 1994. The effect of phosphorus nutrition, shrub control and fire on the dynamics of Mediterranean batha vegetation in the Galilee. Ph.D., The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henkin Z., Seligman N.G., Noy-Meir I. and Kafkafi U. 1999. Secondary succession after fire in a Mediterranean dwarf-shrub community. Journal of Vegetation Science 10: 503-514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilbert D.W. and Larigauderie A. 1990. The concept of stand senescence in chaparral and other Mediterranean type ecosystems. Acta Oecologia 11: 181-190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann W.A. 1999. Fire and population dynamics of woody plants in a neotropical savannah: matix model projections. Ecology 80: 1354-1369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houssard C. and Escarre J. 1995. Variation and covariation among life-history traits in Rumex acetosellafrom a successional old-field gradient. Oecologia (Berlin) 102: 70-80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jónsdóttir I.S. and Watson M.A. 1997. Extensive physiologial integration: an adaptive trait in resource-poor environments. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keddy P.A. 1990. The use of functional as opposed to phylogenetic systematics: a first step in predictive community ecology. In: Kawano S. (ed.), Biological approaches and evolutionary trends in plants. Academic Press, London, UK, pp. 387-406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keeley J.E. 1992. Recruitment of seedlings and vegetative sprouts in unburned chaparral. Ecology 73: 1194-1208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keeley J.E. and Zedler P. 1978. Reproduction of chaparral shrubs after fire a comparison of sprouting and seedling strategies. American Midland Naturalist 99: 142-161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klekowski E.J. 1997. Somatic mutation theory of clonality. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 227-241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klimes L., Klimesova J., Hendriks R. and van Groenendael J. 1997. Clonal plant architecture: a comparative analysis of form and function. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 1-29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korpelainen H., Antonius-Klemola K. and Werlemark G. 1999. Clonal structure of Rubus chamaemoruspopulation: comparison of different molecular methods. Plant Ecology 143: 123-128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Houérou H.N. 1981. Impacts of man and his animals on Mediterranean vegetation. In: di Castri F., Goodall D.W. and Specht R.L. (eds), Mediterranean-type shrublands: Ecosystems of the world. Vol. 2. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 479-522.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lev-Yadun S. 1997. Flora and climate in southern Samaria: past and present. In: Finkelstein I., Lederman Z. and Bunimovitz S. (eds), Highlands of many cultures. Monograph Series. The Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, pp. 85-102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liphschitz N. and Lev-Yadun S. 1986. Cambial activity of evergreen and seasonal dimorphics around the Mediterranean. IAWA Bulletin (New Series) 7: 145-153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liphschitz N., Lev-Yadun S. and Waisel Y. 1985. The annual rhythm of activity of the lateral meristems cambium and phellogen in Pistacia lentiscusL. IAWA Bulletin (New Series) 6: 239-244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litav M. and Orshan G. 1971. Biological flora of Israel. 1. Sarcopoterium spinosum(L.) Spach. Israel Journal of Botany 20: 48-64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litav M., Kupernik G. and Orshan G. 1963. The role of competition as a factor in determining the distribution of dwarf shrub communities in the Mediterranean territory of Israel. Journal of Ecology 51: 467-480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lomasson T. 1948. Succession in sagebrush. Journal of Range Management 1: 19-21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovett Doust L. 1981. Population dynamics and local specialization in a clonal perennial Ranunculus repens. I. The dynamics of ramets in contrasting habitats. Journal of Ecology 69: 743-755.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margaris N.S. and Papadogiani P. 1978. Cambial activity in some plants dominating phryganic formations in Greece. Phyton 36: 1-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAuliffe J.R. 1988. Markovian dynamics of simple and complex desert plant communities. The American Naturalist 131: 459- 490.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLellan A.J., Pratt D., Kaltz O. and Schmid B. 1997. Structure and analysis of phenotypic and genetic variation in clonal plants. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 185-210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menges E.S. and Kohfeldt N. 1995. Life history strategies of Florida scrub plants in relation to fire. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 122: 282-297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris W.M. and Doak D.E. 1998. The life history of the longlived gynodioecious cushion plant Silene acaulis(Caryophyllaceae) inferred from size-based population projection matrices. American Journal of Botany 85: 784-793.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh Z. 1975. The evolutionary influence of fire in the Mediterranean region. Vegetatio 29: 199-208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh Z. 1989. Mediterranean Europe and east Mediterranean shrublands. In: McKell C.M. (ed.), The biology and utilization of shrubs. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 93-117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble J.C., Bell A.D. and Harper J.L. 1979. The population biology of plants with clonal growth. 1. The morphology and structural demography of Carexarenaria. Journal of Ecology 67: 983-1008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oborny B. and Cain M.L. 1997. Models of spatial spread and foraging in clonal plants. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 155-183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohkubo T., Tanimoto T. and Peters R. 1996. Response of Japanese beech (Fagus japonicaMaxim.) sprouts to canopy gaps. Vegetatio 124: 1-8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orshan G. and Zand G. 1962. Seasonal body reduction of certain desert halfshrubs. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel 11D: 36-42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouborg N.J., Piquot Y. and Groenendael J.M. 1999. Population genetics, molecular markers and the study of dispersal in plants. Journal of Ecology 87: 551-568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson C.J. and Jones R.H. 1997. Clonality in woody plants: a review and comparison with clonal herbs. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 263-289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka E.R. 1970. On r-and K-selection. The American Naturalist 104: 592-597.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picard Y.L. and Golani A. 1965. Geological map of Israel - Northern Sheet. Israel Survey Department, Tel Aviv.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pornon A., Escaravage N., Till-Botraud I. and Doche B. 1997.Variation of reproductive traits in Rhododenron ferrugineumL. (Ericaceae) populations along a successional gradient. Plant Ecology 130: 1-11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Psaras G.K. and Konsolaki M.J. 1986. The annual rhythm of cambial activity in four subshrubs common in phryganic formations of Greece. Israel Journal of Botany 35: 35-39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putwain P.D., Maclin D. and Harper J.L. 1968. Studies in the dynamics of plant populations. II. Components and regulation of a natural population of Rumex acetosellaL. Journal of Ecology 56: 421-431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Retana J., Riba M., Castell C. and Espelta J.M. 1992. Regeneration by sprouting of holm oak (Quercus ilex) stands exploited by selection thinning. Vegetatio 99: 355-364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards A.J. 1986. Plant breeding systems. George Allen & Unwin, London, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roughton R.D. 1972. Shrub age structures on a mule deer winter range in Colorado. Ecology 53: 615-625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy J. and Arianoustou-Faraggitaki M. 1985. Light quality as the environmental trigger for the germination of the fire-promoted species Sarcopoterium spinosumL. Flora 177: 345-349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs T. and Novoplansky A. 1997. What does aclonal organization suggest concerning clonal plants? In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 55-77.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS 1994. JMP-Statistics made visual, Version 3.0.2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schenk H.J. 1999. Clonal splitting in desert shrubs. Plant Ecology 141: 42-52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman N.G. and Henkin Z. 2000. Regeneration of a dominant Mediterranean dwarf-shrub after fire. Journal of Vegetation Science 11: 893-902.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J., Franco M., Pisanty I. and Mendoza A. 1993. Comparative plant demography - relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. Journal of Ecology 81: 465-476.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Valk A.G. 1992. Establishment, colonization and persistence. In: Glenn-Lewin D.C., Peet R.K. and Veblen T.T. (eds), Plant succession - theory and prediction. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, pp. 60-102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasek F.C. 1980. Creosote bush: long-lived clones in Mojave Desert. American Journal of Botany 67: 246-255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waisel Y., Liphschitz N. and Kuller Z. 1972. Patterns of water movement in trees and shrubs. Ecology 53: 520-523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson M.A., Hay M.J.M. and Newton P.C.D. 1997. Development phenology and the timing of determination of shoot bud fates: ways in which the development program modulates fitness in clonal plants. In: de Kroon H. and van Groenedael J. (eds), The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 31-53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikberg S. 1995. Fitness in clonal plants. Oikos 72: 293-297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikberg S., Svensson B.M. and Carlsson B.A. 1994. Fitness, population growth rate and flowering in Carex bigelowii- a clonal sedge. Oikos 70: 57-64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyant J.E. and Reid R.S. 1992. Determining the age of Acacia tortiliswith ring counts for South Turkana: a preliminary assessment. African Journal of Ecology 30: 176-180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohary M. 1973. Geobotanical foundations of the Middle East. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Germany and Swets & Zeitlinger, Stuttgart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qiryat Shemona, MIGAL – Galilee Technology Center, Rosh Pinna, 12100, Israel

    No'am Seligman, Zalmen Henkin & Zalmen Henkin

Authors
  1. No'am Seligman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zalmen Henkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zalmen Henkin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Seligman, N., Henkin, Z. Persistence in Sarcopoterium spinosum dwarf-shrub communities. Plant Ecology 164, 95–107 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021289412812

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021289412812

Search

Navigation