Forest on the edge: Seasonal cloud forest in Oman creates its own ecological niche
Forest on the edge: Seasonal cloud forest in Oman creates its own ecological niche
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边缘森林：阿曼的季节性云雾森林创造了自己的生态位
DOI：
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发表时间：
2006
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
E. Eltahir
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
A. Hildebrandt;E. Eltahir
云林通常生长在潮湿的热带地区，那里的水不是植物生长的限制因素。在这里，我们首次描述了阿曼佐法尔山脉水资源有限的季节性云林的水文状况。该生态系统承受着以树冠为食的骆驼的巨大压力。佐法尔森林是曾经遍布阿拉伯半岛的潮湿植被带的残余。根据我们的调查，夏季云浸入的过程在这片沙漠中为潮湿的林地植被创造了一个生态位。林地植被在这个生态系统中生存，通过其树冠增强对云水的捕获（水平降水）来维持。退化的土地缺乏额外的水源，这抑制了树木的重建。我们的建模结果表明，饲养牛可能会对阿拉伯最多样化的生态系统之一造成不可逆转的破坏。
Cloud forests usually grow in the moist tropics where water is not a limiting factor to plant growth. Here, for the first time, we describe the hydrology of a water limited seasonal cloud forest in the Dhofar mountains of Oman. This ecosystem is under significant stress from camels feeding on tree canopies. The Dhofar forests are the remnants of a moist vegetation belt, which once spread across the Arabian Peninsula. According to our investigation the process of cloud immersion during the summer season creates within this desert a niche for moist woodland vegetation. Woodland vegetation survives in this ecosystem, sustained through enhanced capture of cloud water by their canopies (horizontal precipitation). Degraded land lacks this additional water source, which inhibits re‐establishment of trees. Our modeling results suggest that cattle feeding may lead to irreversible destruction of one of the most diverse ecosystems in Arabia.