Fig. 3.

Spatial patterns of clonality and hypothesized organic matter accumulation. For each spatial pattern, the left panel indicates clonal lateral extension and the right panel indicates the pattern of organic matter that could be the longer term consequence of it in terms of soil organic matter. (A) Spacers turn over slowly (S) owing to litter recalcitrance and low decomposability, while the leaves (and roots) of the ramets turn over fast (F) because of high decomposability. Thus only the spacers leave a long-term legacy as linear patterns of soil organic matter accumulation. (B) The opposite pattern where the ramets turn over slowly and the spacers fast, resulting in spotwise patterns of soil organic matter organized in linear configurations. (C) Both spacers and ramets produce recalcitrant litter, resulting in continuous soil organic matter patterning [perhaps exemplified by the bromeliad Aechmaea nudicaulis on sandy beaches in coastal Brazil (Fig. 2C)]. (D) Clonal growth pattern where leaves, roots and spacers fill up an entire spot gradually and produce litter of low decomposability and a continuous area of soil organic matter. (E, F) Centrifugal clonal extension where the ramets, with leaves (and roots) of low decomposability, are spread out by spacers, thereby assuming ring shapes, eventually leading to ring-shaped soil organic matter patterns. See the main text for other theoretically possible patterns for clonal and non-clonal plants.