Figure 1

Map of Israel, with an asterisk marking the study site

Figure 2

A dead shrub patch, with a hammer at the patch's right edge. Note the considerably greater biomass of fresh herbaceous vegetation in the patch (the picture's center) than that in the inter-patch space (the picture's margins). Picture was taken in February 2018.

Table 1

Microhabitat effect on soil properties

Table 2

Depth effect on soil properties

Table 3

Effect of the interaction between microhabitat and depth on soil properties

Figure 3

Microtopographic transects of mean catenary and lateral axes of dead shrub patches and their vicinities

Table 4

Analytical model parameters for the catenary+lateral transects

Figure 4

Mean normalized volumetric moisture content distribution along 2-m length lateral axis, during the rainy seasons of four consecutive years (2016/17 through 2019/20). Notes: the dead shrub's trunk is located in the axis' center (the 100 cm point). Error bars represent standard error of the means. Bars with different letters, differ at the 0.05 probability level according to Tukey's HSD.

Figure 5

Mean herbaceous vegetation aboveground biomass in shrubby patches and adjacent intershrub spaces, according to growing season. Notes: error bars represent standard error of the means.

Annex 1

Soil properties in the 0-10 cm depth of dead and live shrub patches, and the calculated ratio between them

Annex 2

Mean normalized volumetric moisture content distribution and its moving average along 2-m length lateral axis of dead and live shrubs, during the rainy season. Note: Measurements were taken in nine dead and nine live shrub patches. Error bars represent standard error of the means. Lines represent moving averages.

Figure 6

Schematic illustration of factors and processes that determine the soil-water dynamics in the shrubby patches and inter-patch spaces Notes: interception in the dead shrub patch is being conducted by the shrub canopy, the dense shoot of herbaceous plants, and the plant litter. In the inter-patch space, this process is conducted by the sparse herbaceous plants. Some interception may also be induced by the biological crusts. In the dead shrub patch, some of the raindrops may be accumulated in the upward-opening snail shells, where they remain until evaporated. Infiltration is facilitated in the dead shrub patch by the shrub root pathways, as well as by the dense root system of the herbaceous plants. In the inter-patch space, this process is facilitated by the sparse roots of herbaceous plants. Some infiltration may also be induced by the biological crusts. Transpiration is conducted in the dead shrub patch by the dense herbaceous plants. In the inter-patch space, this process is conducted by the sparse herbaceous plants. Some transpiration is also induced by the biological crusts. Evaporation is regulated in the dead shrub patch by the shrub canopy, plant litter, snail shells, and the dense herbaceous plants cover. In the inter-patch space, this process is regulated by the sparse herbaceous plants cover, as well as by the dense cover of biological crusts. Also, the biological crusts induce considerable dew condensation, of which some of it is uptaken by the crusts themselves. Despite the dense cover of plant litter and snail shells in the dead shrub patch, some runoff may be generated on its soil mound, down-mound flowing to the inter-patch space. In dead shrub patches, no hydraulic lift takes place.