Guo determined the long-term recovery of a Sonoran Desert plant community from historical human and livestock disturbances, using current and historic data sets. Since the removal of livestock from the Desert Laboratory in 1907 there has been a large increase in plant cover and species richness which is composed of increases in cacti, herbs, and half shrubs while no invasive species were found on the site. Plant community dynamics were similar in all plots in 1907 and since have diverged into unique plant communities, however, community dynamics are still not related to climactic changes and therefore recovery of this community is also related to the history of disturbance at the site and the life cycle of the plant species that are present. The results of this study indicate that further research is required to understand the dynamics of plant community recovery and continued monitoring at this site and other sites will hopefully aid our future understanding of this concept.
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