Plant community patterns in a gypsum area of NE Spain. II. Effects of ion washing on topographic distribution of vegetation |
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| Authors: | Joaquín Guerrero-Campo Francisco Alberto Melchor Maestro John Hodgson Gabriel Montserrat-Martí |
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| Institution: | a Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (C.S.I.C.), Aptdo. 202, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain;b Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (C.S.I.C.), Aptdo. 202, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain;c The NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K. |
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| Abstract: | A model, based on the physico-chemical properties of gypsum, is postulated in order to interpret the regular distribution of plant communities associated with the topography and the main environmental stresses to which each vegetation type is subjected in a landscape unit.The leaf chemical composition of 28 representative plant species supports the main predictions of the model: species from low areas present large concentrations of Na, N and ash but low contents of Ca. It is demonstrated that the strong nutrient and salt downwashing in the hilly terrain is an important cause of the vegetation segregation observed on a large spatial scale. |
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| Keywords: | Mediterranean vegetation chemical erosion topography semi-arid climate gypsum hills |
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