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Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands

Fernando T Maestre1, Matthew A Bowker, María D Puche

  • 1Area de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain. fernando.maestre@urjc.es

Ecology Letters
|July 30, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Shrub encroachment in drylands may not indicate desertification. In Mediterranean grasslands, it improved plant richness, soil fertility, and microbial biomass, suggesting a reversal of desertification.

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