d) Increased or decreased grazing and browsing by animals which alter plant productivity rates. 3. Animal species composition will change as a result of the following factors, a) Changes in plant production, which in turn will provide a change in food source and cover in the form of green biomass, reproductive parts, and surface litter, b) The presence of new ’’cover" which will provide shading in the day as well as potentially reduced long-wave radiation losses at night. Monitoring diurnal radiation and heat flux rates will quantify the protective "cover" aspect of solar collectors, c) The presence of man which will probably be the most important variable dictating animal composition, especially the larger, more visible animals with larger territories. Preliminary habitat disturbances, construction of fences, and maintenance activities will all be very important in determining the amount of recolonization of animals allowed by man’s activities. More specific biotic hypotheses are advanced below. Following each hypothesis a brief explanation of the suggested driving variables are presented, as well as which variables need to be monitored and correlated to the specific biotic alteration. The hypotheses are presented in an order of decreasing significance of occurrence and impact on the ecosystem. Biotic Hypotheses; Site Preserved Hypothesis: Plant and antmat density and diversity will increase with time. Animal populations should initially be reduced, but if allowed to immigrate onto the site, will do so due to the new "cover" provided by the collectors. Presence of fencing around the site will exclude the larger animals. Density and diversity are easily sampled in the field using one of a variety of standard techniques. Hypothesis; Photosynthetic productivity of plants on the site will be greater than in adjacent desert sites due to a microclimate more favorable for photosynthesis. Monitoring of the abiotic environment would allow mathematical correlation and possibly modeling of photosynthesis changes as affected by new microclimates. This hypothesis applies to most, but not all, of the
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