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Dominic Oldershaw
Most of the Hymenoclea and Achnotherum in this view died, probably as a result of the 1989 drought. As a result of this, plus more recent establishment of Menodora, the species composition of the townsite shows considerable recovery. Recoverability of severely disturbed sites, such as this townsites, proceeds through a successional process of initial colonization by a wide variety of short-lived perennial species followed by replacement by longer-lived species. Droughts are one mechanism whereby short-lived species are killed, allowing replacement by the slower-growing but hardier longer-lived species. (Dominic Oldershaw)