ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Modes of bio-physical transition between the shrub-dominated and desert fringe communities were revealed for North to South and West to East climatic transects in Israel. This was achieved by combining vegetation cover data derived from applying remote sensing techniques on seasonal Landsat TM imagery with field surveys of cover and biomass. Correlation levels between vegetation cover and biomass with precipitation were found to be significant, revealing the non-linearity of these relationships, especially for disturbed ecosystems. Assessment of the resulting patterns when compared to data obtained from existing phytogeographical maps indicated the added value of such synergy from the ecological point of view. The following generalized model for Mediterranean climatic transects is suggested (but needs further assessment): Biomass = 0.09 ∗ e0.045∗precipitation, where precipitation is measured as cm/year.
