Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation.
Competition is generally regarded as an important force in organizing the structure of vegetation, and evidence from several experimental studies of species mixtures suggests that larger mature plant size elicits a competitive advantage. However, these findings are at odds with the fact that large a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3862571?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818201544512765952 |
|---|---|
| author | Brandon S Schamp Lonnie W Aarssen Stephanie Wight |
| author_facet | Brandon S Schamp Lonnie W Aarssen Stephanie Wight |
| author_sort | Brandon S Schamp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Competition is generally regarded as an important force in organizing the structure of vegetation, and evidence from several experimental studies of species mixtures suggests that larger mature plant size elicits a competitive advantage. However, these findings are at odds with the fact that large and small plant species generally coexist, and relatively smaller species are more common in virtually all plant communities. Here, we use replicates of ten relatively large old-field plant species to explore the competitive impact of target individual size on their surrounding neighbourhoods compared to nearby neighbourhoods of the same size that are not centred by a large target individual. While target individuals of the largest of our test species, Centaurea jacea L., had a strong impact on neighbouring species, in general, target species size was a weak predictor of the number of other resident species growing within its immediate neighbourhood, as well as the number of resident species that were reproductive. Thus, the presence of a large competitor did not restrict the ability of neighbouring species to reproduce. Lastly, target species size did not have any impact on the species size structure of neighbouring species; i.e. they did not restrict smaller, supposedly poorer competitors, from growing and reproducing close by. Taken together, these results provide no support for a size-advantage in competition restricting local species richness or the ability of small species to coexist and successfully reproduce in the immediate neighbourhood of a large species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T02:55:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-077823cf87444f5bbe3b47b21e9cbfad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T02:55:15Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-077823cf87444f5bbe3b47b21e9cbfad2022-12-22T00:40:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01812e8203610.1371/journal.pone.0082036Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation.Brandon S SchampLonnie W AarssenStephanie WightCompetition is generally regarded as an important force in organizing the structure of vegetation, and evidence from several experimental studies of species mixtures suggests that larger mature plant size elicits a competitive advantage. However, these findings are at odds with the fact that large and small plant species generally coexist, and relatively smaller species are more common in virtually all plant communities. Here, we use replicates of ten relatively large old-field plant species to explore the competitive impact of target individual size on their surrounding neighbourhoods compared to nearby neighbourhoods of the same size that are not centred by a large target individual. While target individuals of the largest of our test species, Centaurea jacea L., had a strong impact on neighbouring species, in general, target species size was a weak predictor of the number of other resident species growing within its immediate neighbourhood, as well as the number of resident species that were reproductive. Thus, the presence of a large competitor did not restrict the ability of neighbouring species to reproduce. Lastly, target species size did not have any impact on the species size structure of neighbouring species; i.e. they did not restrict smaller, supposedly poorer competitors, from growing and reproducing close by. Taken together, these results provide no support for a size-advantage in competition restricting local species richness or the ability of small species to coexist and successfully reproduce in the immediate neighbourhood of a large species.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3862571?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Brandon S Schamp Lonnie W Aarssen Stephanie Wight Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. PLoS ONE |
| title | Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. |
| title_full | Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. |
| title_fullStr | Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. |
| title_short | Effects of 'target' plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old-field vegetation. |
| title_sort | effects of target plant species body size on neighbourhood species richness and composition in old field vegetation |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3862571?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brandonsschamp effectsoftargetplantspeciesbodysizeonneighbourhoodspeciesrichnessandcompositioninoldfieldvegetation AT lonniewaarssen effectsoftargetplantspeciesbodysizeonneighbourhoodspeciesrichnessandcompositioninoldfieldvegetation AT stephaniewight effectsoftargetplantspeciesbodysizeonneighbourhoodspeciesrichnessandcompositioninoldfieldvegetation |