Figure 1 a) The ‘four patch’ microcosm; inset shows a mesocosm complete with a Plaster of Paris fill and the patch-corridor plastic buffer (which prevents moisture moving between the two via the Plaster of Paris); b) The quantity of water added to the microcosms over time and the ensuing number of patches affected by drought. The microcosms experienced drought severity and the number of patches affect by drought at different rates, after treatments start at week 0 (grey dashed line). The number of dry patches in the fast increase in number of drought patches (green dot-dashed line) treatment reaches 4 at week 5, whilst in the slow (green long-dash line) reaches 4 at week 10. Strong drought is created by reducing the amount of water 0.4ml per week (yellow solid line), whilst weak drought is created by reducing water at 0.2ml per week (blue solid line).