Patches structure succession based on spatial point pattern features in semi-arid ecosystems of the water-wind erosion crisscross region

Spatial point-pattern analysis can give insights to the underlying processes of patch succession and restoration. It is unclear whether inter-shrub competition determines patch succession. In this paper, we assessed the spatial patterns along patch succession using spatial statistics such as univariate and bivariate O-ring statistics, in the water-wind erosion crisscross region in semi-arid ecosystems of the Loess Plateau. Point pattern analysis results showed that there were no significant difference in three positions of the slope. The small and middle shrub patches were aggregatedly distributed in small spatial scale, meanwhile the large shrub patches were regularly distributed and dead shrub patches were randomly distributed. The small shrub patches were respectively aggregated to the middle and large patches at fine scales. Competition-induced regular distribution or negative relationship becomes obvious when analyzing the shift towards less aggregated perceptible effect of competition, a time component should always be included in spatial pattern-based inference of competition. Our results revealed that regular, clumped and random shrub patch patterns could occur, pending on size of shrub patches, and the shrub patches are distributed in different ways and they can present variant spatial point pattern features along patch size succession.