Summary Two blocks, each consisting of twelve 0.25 m2 permanent plots (0.5 × 0.5 m), were established in a community dominated by desert annuals in an area of Kuwait protected from grazing. Small-scale dynamics of desert annuals, cumulative species richness and inter-annual plot similarity were investigated in plots of both blocks in three growth seasons, 1997, 1998 and 2000. The three study periods had different precipitation patterns in respect of the amount of rainfall received during the growth period, as well as the timing and amount of the first rains to trigger germination. In all three seasons, most species of the cumulative species pool (i.e. all species registered in each block during the study period) were rare, and of the more frequent ones, species turnover was generally high. High turnover is also reflected in a low inter-annual plot similarity. Stochastic climatic factors appear to play a major role in determining species composition and thus species turnover in a particular growth season. Species turnover, mediated by temporal niche partitioning, is generally regarded as an important factor in promoting coexistence in communities dominated by annuals in spatially uniform habitats. However, very high species richness in the particularly favourable growth season 1998, in which over 75% of species of the cumulative species pool were recorded, suggests that in this desert ecosystem characterised by generally very low vegetation cover, the role of species turnover in maintaining diversity may not be as important as in other ecosystems dominated by annuals.