Untangling clumps-factors influencing seedling ecology in a semi-desert, and the implications for restoration ecology

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-116).Facilitation between plants and patch dynamics are two common ecological processes in semi-arid regions. I tested the relevance of these processes to seedling establishment of perennial species on degraded landscapes in Namaqualand, South Africa. The species were grouped into two functional guilds, Mesembryanthema (formerly the family Mesembryanthemaceae, but now part of the Aicoaceae; hereafter Mesemb), which rely on CAM to a variable degree and are shallow rooted, and non-Mesembryanthema (hereafter non-Mesemb) that utilize C3 photosynthesis and have deeper root systems