Abstract
We describe and quantify the process of space occupation by the dwarf shrub, Sarcopoterium spinosum, in mesic and xeric Mediterranean environments. The shrubs were sampled in fifteen 2 m x 1 m plots in an arid Mediterranean site (Lahav, northern Negev, Israel) and in a 10-m2 patch in a sub-humid Mediterranean site (Elkosh, Galilee). The results revealed three clear stages of development that follow the seedling stage (first year): Sapling;, Young;, and Adult stages, each of which contributes differently to the persistence of the individual shrub and its population in space and time. The timelines in the xeric and mesic sites were very similar, though development was more intense in the mesic site. The Sapling stage is characterized by rapid elongation of only a few stem axes during the first 5 years. The transition to the Young stage is marked by the onset of canopy expansion and the proliferation of stem axes, and during this stage clonal structures are formed, i.e., the connected ramets (stem-...
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