microenvironments present in a collector array. Sites immediately under the collectors may be bare due to the collector blocking incoming light and precipitation. Hypothesis: Individual shrub canopy volumes will increase. This is expected to be a long-term change due to the low production rates of desert shrubs. Reduced incident light could result in increased leaf production adding to shrub volume. Hypothesis: Density of desert annuals, weeds, and grasses will be increased within the collector arrays. Grass establishment would be dependent on amount of soil water present and degree of grazing pressure (from all animals). Many grasses tolerate low light conditions, and may occur abundantly in wet seasons. Other small herbs will be common, and weeds should dominate in areas that are regularly disturbed. Hypothesis: Insect numbers will increase in the collector areas. Not all types of insects will increase, but several major types may. Ants may become common in relatively undisturbed areas due to a potentially large seed source. More detritus may be available for surface Tenebrionid beetles and termites, flowers for Lepidoptera, and leaves for Homoptera. Hypothesis: Soil microorganisms and arthropods will increase with time becoming greater than in the surrounding natural desert area. Decomposition rate of the soil will also increase. The driving variables for these changes are increase in soil moisture and reduced soil temperatures. Hypothesis; Diurnal animal behavior and activity may shift. This is difficult to test except through observation and trapping, but this may occur due to cover and shading of the collectors. Other hypotheses can be formulated in looking at more specific interactions, and further predictions of biotic changes. These hypotheses will also eventually apply to cleared sites, but only on a long-term basis. Short
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