Efficient Microsite Exploitation in an Annual Grass Species Leads to Dominance and Inter‐specific Competition in Semiarid Communities on Biocrust

In semiarid annual plant communities growing on biocrust in the Northern Negev desert of Israel, microsite availability limits recruitment of many species; however, the dominant grass, Stipa capensis has overcome this limitation and may suppress the recruitment of others. I tested these hypotheses using seed and plant data from a field experiment. Mowing the herbaceous intershrub vegetation on biocrust in spring 2006 reduced seed and plant density of S. capensis in the following spring, reflecting seed‐limited recruitment. Its reduced density—but not its biomass—increased plant and species density of other species, by release of inter‐specific competition for microsites. (Photo credits: B. Boeken) (Photo credits: B. Boeken) (Photo credits: B. Boeken) These photographs illustrate the article “Competition for microsites during recruitment in semiarid annual plant communities” by Bertrand R. Boeken published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.248