Short-Range Ecogeomorphic Processes in Dryland Systems

International audienceInteractions between ecological and geomorphic processes in drylands operate at a continuum of spatial scales. Processes that operate at the smaller (plant-interplant up to hillslope) scales produce intrinsic patterns of vegetation and resource accumulation. Four aspects of short-range process interactions are presented here: the importance of vegetation cover of individual plants and plant patches and their interactions with resource availability; an updated account of the significance of the islands of fertility and landscape linkages; the interrelationship between facilitation and soil moisture dynamics and the importance of morphological properties, such as plant allometry, to generate stable patterns of vegetatio