Trees achieve high rates of transpiration by maintaining their high leaf area in moving air and by possessing roots able to access moisture even when the upper soil is dry.
Firstly, plant community recovery from disturbance, such as windthrown mortality, is typically more prolonged in arid systems due to resource limitations such as a lack of moisture and, therefore, access to nutrients.
Members of the family Rhinotermitidae (e.g., Coptotermes) require access to moisture and cannot survive prolonged dry periods.
The tension cracks can allow access to moisture, causing corrosion, separation, and other types of degeneration.
Compacted soil hardpans restrict crop growth by limiting root access to moisture and nutrients in the subsoil.
Cycling damage is a contributing factor as cracking allows access of moisture to this interface, while high strain energy provides the driving force for spallation.
Therefore, the only way by which plants can access such moisture is through evaporation from the stored water into the substrate (Vesuviano, 2013).
In the 2012 2013 sampling, oviposition occurred preferentially proximally to leaf cracks (possibly induced by intense frost events); we infer that this could be a strategy of this taxon to establish an 'easier' access to moisture.
They inhabit scrubland, succulent desert, and oak woodland, seeking shelter in burrows, thickets, and under rocks in locations with ready access to moisture.
In contrast, the interior is characterized by more stable conditions that provide ready access to moisture at low light levels.
