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All perennial plants harbor diverse endophytic fungal communities, but why they tolerate these complex asymptomatic symbioses is unknown. Using a multi-pronged approach, we conclusively found that a dryland grass supports endophyte communities comprised predominantly of latent saprophytes that can enhance localized nutrient recycling after senescence. A perennial bunchgrass, Stipagrostis sabulicola, which persists along a gradient of extreme abiotic stress in the hyper-arid Namib Sand Sea, was the focal point of our study. Living tillers yielded 20 fungal endophyte taxa, 80% of which decomposed host litter during a 28-day laboratory decomposition assay. During a 6-month field experiment, tillers with endophytes decomposed twice as fast as sterilized tillers, consistent with the laboratory assay. Furthermore, profiling the community active during decomposition using next-generation sequencing revealed that 59–70% of the S. sabulicola endophyte community is comprised of latent saprophytes, and these dual-niche fungi still constitute a large proportion (58–62%) of the litter community more than a year after senescence. This study provides multiple lines of evidence that the fungal communities that initiate decomposition of standing litter develop in living plants, thus providing a plausible explanation for why plants harbor complex endophyte communities. Using frequent overnight non-rainfall moisture events (fog, dew, high humidity), these latent saprophytes can initiate decomposition of standing litter immediately after tiller senescence, thus maximizing the likelihood that plant-bound nutrients are recycled in situ and contribute to the nutrient island effect that is prevalent in drylands.

Flood-fed aquifers along the sandy lower reach of the Kuiseb River sustain a 130-km-long green belt of lush oases across the hyperarid Namib desert. This oasis is a year-round source for water creating dense-tall woodland along the narrow corridor of the ephemeral river valley, which, in turn, supports human activity and fauna including during the long dry austral winters and multi-year droughts. Occasional floods, originating at the river's wetter headwaters, travel ∼280 km downstream, before recharging these aquifers. We analyzed the flood-aquifer-vegetation dynamics at-a-site and along the river, determining the relative impact of floods with diverse magnitude and frequency on downstream reaches. We find that flood discharge that feeds the alluvial aquifers also affects vegetation dynamics along the river. The downstream aquifers are fed only by the largest floods that allow the infrequent germination of plants; mean annual recharge volume is too low to support the aquifers level. These short-term vegetation cycles of green-up and then fast senescence in-between floods are easily detected by satellite-derived vegetation index. This index identifies historical floods and their magnitudes in arid and hyperarid regions; specifically, it determines occurrences of large floods in headwater-fed, ephemeral Namib streams as well as in other hyperarid regions. Our study reveals the importance of flood properties on the oasis life cycle, emphasizing the impact of drought and wet years on the Namib's riparian vegetation.

The hyper-arid western Namib Sand Sea (mean annual rainfall 0-17 mm) is a detritus-based ecosystem in which primary production is driven by large, but infrequent rainfall events. A diverse Namib detritivore community is sustained by minimal moisture inputs from rain and fog. The decomposition of plant material in the Namib Sand Sea (NSS) has long been assumed to be the province of these detritivores, with beetles and termites alone accounting for the majority of litter losses. We have found that a mesophilic Ascomycete community, which responds within minutes to moisture availability, is present on litter of the perennial Namib dune grass Stipagrostis sabulicola. Important fungal traits that allow survival and decomposition in this hyper-arid environment with intense desiccation, temperature and UV radiation stress are darkly-pigmented hyphae, a thermal range that includes the relatively low temperature experienced during fog and dew, and an ability to survive daily thermal and desiccation stress at temperatures as high as 50°C for five hours. While rainfall is very limited in this area, fog and high humidity provide regular periods (≥ 1 hour) of sufficient moisture that can wet substrates and hence allow fungal growth on average every 3 days. Furthermore, these fungi reduce the C/N ratio of the litter by a factor of two and thus detritivores, like the termite Psammotermes allocerus, favor fungal-infected litter parts. Our studies show that despite the hyper-aridity of the NSS, fungi are a key component of energy flow and biogeochemical cycling that should be accounted for in models addressing how the NSS ecosystem will respond to projected climate changes which may alter precipitation, dew and fog regimes.