Urbanisation has created an environment with a broad spectrum of habitats of differing quality for birds. Understanding habitat characteristics is necessary for effective conservation of species in urban environments. We investigated the vegetation requirements of a small, shrub-nesting, Australian bird, the Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus), and the relative quality of urban habitats in the ...

Two psammophile-dominated Artemisia semi-shrubs (A. wudanica and A. halodendron) and two annual Artemisia forbs (A. sieversiana and A. scoparia) bear significant ecological functions in Horqin Sandy Land, but systematical information on their achenes’ germination is very limited. A set of studies were conducted to evaluate seed germination responses to storage periods and methods, different tem...

Spatial heterogeneity of abiotic factors influences patterns of seedling establishment at different scales. In stress-prone ecosystems such as Mediterranean ones, heterogeneity generated by shrubs has been shown to facilitate the establishment of tree species. However, how this facilitation is affected by spatial scale remains poorly understood. We have experimentally analysed the consequences ...

Harsh habitats dominated by invasive species are difficult to restore. Invasive grasses in arid environments slow succession toward more desired composition, yet grass removal exacerbates high light and temperature, making the use of "nurse plants" an appealing strategy. In this study of degraded subtropical woodlands dominated by alien grasses in Hawai'i, we evaluated whether individuals of tw...

Annual and seasonal evapo-transpiration (ET) were compared among Mojave Desert shrubs with different leaf phenologies over a 3-year period during which annual precipitation varied from well below average to more than twice average. During the wet year, soil wetting fronts reached maximum depths of 0)75 m to '1)95 m, depending on soil texture at the study sites. The evergreen shrubs Larrea tride...

Alpine grazing reduces blazing’ is a widely and strongly held view concerning the effects of livestock grazing on fuels, and therefore fire behaviour and impact, in Australia’s high country landscapes. As a test of this hypothesis, we examined the patterns of burning across the alpine (treeless) landscapes of the Bogong High Plains in Victoria, following the extensive fires of January 2003. Dat...

Native shrubs facilitate the establishment of oak seedlings in opencast coal mines rehabilitated to pastures Northern Spain, under a Mediterranean sub-humid climate. We evaluate soil changes as one possible facilitative effects nurse shrubs. hypothesize that on mining soils can improve edaphic properties directly and indirectly by reducing negative trampling grazing ungulates. Thus, we assessed...