The Importance of Annual Plants and Multi-Scalar Analysis for Understanding Coastal Dune Stabilization Process in the Mediterranean

Since ecological phenomena and patterns vary with scale, scalar analysis is a developing practice in ecology. Scalar analysis is most valuable in heterogeneous environments, since habitat heterogeneity is a key factor in determining biodiversity. One such case can be seen in the changes in annual vegetation in coastal sand dune systems. Most studies in these environments are carried out at the dune scale, comparing dunes at different stabilization states. However, a broader understanding of dune stabilization processes requires analyses at the finer scales of dune slope aspects (directions of exposure to wind) and patches (under and between woody perennial species). Here, we present the results of a study that combines the three scales (dune, slope, and patch) in the Mediterranean coastal dune systems in Israel. Through this multi-scalar analysis, we are able to describe processes at the finer patch and aspect scale and explain how they shape patterns at the dune scale. The results indicate that the dune scale exposes the differences in annual plant characteristics between mobile and fixed dunes, their slopes and patches and the reorganization and spatial distribution of annual plants within mobile and fixed dunes during the stabilization process.

Automated summary

Scalar analysis, an emerging practice in ecology, holds particular value in heterogeneous environments. This study in Mediterranean coastal dune systems demonstrates the importance of multi-scalar analysis in understanding the processes at finer scales and their impact on patterns at larger scales. The results highlight the differences in annual plant characteristics between mobile and fixed dunes, as well as the reorganization and distribution of annual plants within different dune stabilization states.