Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1111/jvs.13092 |
| Licence |
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| Title (Primary) | Definition of “fairy circles” and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings |
| Author | Getzin, S.; Yizhaq, H.; Tschinkel, W.R. |
| Journal | Journal of Vegetation Science |
| Year | 2021 |
| Department | OESA |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Page From | e13092 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Supplements | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fjvs.13092&file=jvs13092-sup-0001-AppendixS1-S2.docx |
| Keywords | aridity; collective plant rings; fairy circles; fungal fairy rings; hexagonal grid; Namib Desert; nearest neighbor; rainfall; spatial periodicity; tussock rings; vegetation gaps; Western Australia |
| Abstract |
The fairy circles along the Namib Desert in southern
Africa are round grassland gaps that have puzzled scientists for about
50 years. With the discovery of fairy circles in Australia in 2016, the
debate on the origin of the circles has been extended to a new
continent. Research interest on the topic has since then risen strongly
but so has the use of the term “fairy circle”. This term has become more
imprecise and, by analogy, has been applied to circular vegetation gaps
or plant rings that are largely unrelated to fairy circles. For this
reason, we define the concept of fairy circles by identifying their
three main characteristics based on in situ field observations and soil
excavations to larger-scale spatial patterns, and regional-scale
distribution. Following this approach, fairy circles are defined by:
(a) being “empty gaps” in grassland without a central insect-nest
structure; (b) their ability to form spatially periodic patterns, which
are regular hexagonal patterns with an extraordinary degree of spatial
ordering; and (c) their strongly regional distribution confined within a
narrow arid climatic envelope. In these combined traits, fairy circles
differ from other common vegetation gaps which, for example, always have
a central insect-nest structure and may occur across broad climatic
gradients on continents. Also plant rings have their own specific
characteristics that largely differ from the combined attributes of
genuine fairy circles. There are many other vegetation-gap patterns in arid
lands but if such gaps cannot jointly show the three characteristics
defining the fairy circles, they should be carefully discussed on their
own, rather than mixing them up with fairy circles. Our synthesis
provides a new etymology for the different types of vegetation gaps and
rings, aiming to guide the reader through various classes of circular
plant patterns. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25371 |
| Getzin, S., Yizhaq, H., Tschinkel, W.R. (2021): Definition of “fairy circles” and how they differ from other common vegetation gaps and plant rings J. Veg. Sci. 32 (6), e13092 |
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