Precipitation seasonality and soil texture interact to shape dryland recovery from severe disturbance

Disturbances drive large changes in plant composition and ecosystem functioning in drylands, but current understanding of how recovery following disturbance depends on the environment is limited due to challenges in analysing effects of disparate disturbances across abiotic gradients. We combined remote sensing and field observations across 5600+ km of natural gas pipeline corridors and adjacent undisturbed vegetation to investigate how recovery from a uniform, severe disturbance varied with factors that influence water availability in drylands. We found that recovery of net primary production (NPP) often remains incomplete, with only 42% of our sites projected to fully recover within 100 years. NPP recovery was quicker and more complete in regions that receive most of their annual precipitation at low temperatures and have fine-textured soil; recovery of total shrub cover (median timing of 81 years) was faster on fine-textured soils in locations that receive most of their annual precipitation at high temperatures. Locations with quick recovery of shrub cover were linked with a shift in dominant shrub species and incomplete NPP recovery. Synthesis. Recovery of NPP and shrub cover in drylands were driven by different environmental factors. For both NPP and shrub cover, locations with high pre-disturbance values required more time to recover to adjacent undisturbed levels than locations with low pre-disturbance values. Quick recovery of shrub cover or productivity was generally linked with a shift in dominant plant species or functional group. Las perturbaciones provocan grandes cambios en la composicion de plantas y en el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas de las zonas aridas, pero la comprension actual de como la recuperacion tras una perturbacion depende del clima es limitada debido a las dificultades de analizar los efectos de perturbaciones dispares a traves de gradientes abioticos. Combinamos las observaciones de satelite y campo a lo largo de mas de 5600 km de corredores de gasoductos naturales y vegetacion adyacente no perturbada para investigar como la recuperacion tras una perturbacion uniforme y severa variaba con los factores que influyen en la disponibilidad de agua en las tierras secas. Encontramos que la recuperacion de la produccion primaria neta (PPN) a menudo es incompleta, con un 42% de nuestros sitios proyectados para recuperarse completamente dentro de 100 anos. La recuperacion de la PPN fue mas rapida y completa en regiones donde la mayoria de la precipitacion calle en tiempos de baja temperatura, la recuperacion de la cubierta arbustiva total (mediana de 81 anos) fue mas rapida en suelos de textura fina. Las localidades con una rapida recuperacion de la cubierta arbustiva estuvieron relacionadas con un cambio en las especies arbustivas dominantes y una recuperacion incompleta de la NPP. La recuperacion de la PPN y de la cubierta arbustiva en las zonas aridas se debio a diferentes factores ambientales. Tanto para la PPN como para la cobertura arbustiva, los lugares con altos valores previos a la perturbacion necesitaron mas tiempo para recuperarse a niveles no perturbados que los lugares con bajos valores previo a la perturbacion. La rapida recuperacion de la cubierta arbustiva o de la productividad fue generalmente relacionada con un cambio en la especie vegetal dominante o en el grupo functional de las plantas. This study examines disturbed vegetation inside, and undisturbed vegetation adjacent to, 5600+ km of natural gas pipelines to understand patterns of NPP and shrub cover recovery in drylands. The authors found that NPP recovery was uncommon, with 58% of sites showing a plateau trajectory in recovery. Median time for shrub cover recovery was 83 years and was quickest on fine-textured soils.image