Amir Mor-Mussery

Global desertification transforms interconnected woody-plants ecosystems, such as shrublands and woodlands, into discrete woody-plants one through drying and land segmentation. The growth and development of isolated woody-plants under extreme climates and landscapes depends on their resilience and the balance between facilitation and competition with neighboring plants. Woody plants interact closely with their patch herbaceous vegetation (HerbVeg). Therefore, we hypothesize that temporal changes in HerbVeg around woody plants can serve as an indicator of woody plants resilience. This study pursued two objectives: [i] to determine the temporary and spatial effect of woody plants on their patch HerbVeg; [2] to propose a flexible, comprehensive, and user-friendly framework for quantifying, visualizing, and storing the ecosystem engineering capabilities of woody plants in arid regions. The research was conducted in the Migda plain, Northern Negev, Israel. The area of study is located on loess plain, contains cultivated fields, ravine surrounding active gullies, and experimental farm for arid agriculture. Seven woody species were studied: relicts of orchard (Olea europaea, Ceratonia siliqua), and Eucalyptus camaldulensis woodland, and native species (Acacia victoriae, Tamarix negevensis, Lycium shawii, Atriplex halimus).  PlanrtScope® imagery from November 2016 to May 2025 was used to measure NDVI dynamics within 5m buffer around woody plants’ canopy. The finding indicates that A. victoriae consistently promote high HerbVeg compare the reference. Secondly, the tree resilience to site terms depends on species, landscape context and growth pattern. For example, T. negevensis on plains enhances herbaceous cover in streambeds in the short term; when more widely dispersed, it continues to facilitate HerbVeg, but in dense stands it inhibits herbaceous establishment. An interactive analytical framework was developed to support data exploration, visualization, and long-term storage, providing a robust tool to assess and illustrate the ecosystem-engineering roles of discrete woody plants.