A proposed mechanism for the formation of "fertile islands' in the desert ecosystem

W. Garner, Y. Steinberger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

131 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the desert ecosystem, micro-, meso-, and macro-fauna are all attracted to the canopies of whatever plants exist, the place of highest moisture, lowest daytime temperature and most abundant food sources. This paper presents the hypothesis that under conditions of desert aridity the concentrating biological transport mechanisms dominate over the dispersive physical mechanisms. This causes the phenomenon known as "fertile islands'/ -from Authors

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)257-262
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Arid Environments
Volume16
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1989
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A proposed mechanism for the formation of "fertile islands' in the desert ecosystem'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this