Factors determining the centrifugal organization of remnant <i>Festuca</i> grassland communities in Alberta

Vujnović, Ksenija; Wein, Ross W.; Dale, Mark R. T.

doi:10.2307/3236784

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Summary of three-way ANOVAs for Pseudorogeneria spicata and Festuca campestris across treatment combinations for all 5 measures of competition: Competitive intensity (C int ), competitive importance (C imp ), competitive effect (C e ), competitive response (C r ) and absolute competition (C ab 1030 Carlyle, Cameron N. et al in the high water-high nutrient treatment, but it is likely that a more severe clipping treatment, created by either increasing the amount of biomass removed or subjecting the plant to multiple clippings, would have produced more significant reductions in plant biomass as has been observed in a field study with this grass (Arredondo & Johnson 1998). The resistance of F. campestris to clipping, in all but the high resource, competition-free case, is inconsistent with field experiments (Willms & Fraser 1992;Vujnovic et al 2000), but again our clipping regime on comparatively younger plants may not have been severe enough to induce a response. However, this does suggest ability by both of these species to compensate for the effects of clipping and that the effect of clipping is reduced as conditions become more stressful.…”

Section: Interacting Effects On Biomassmentioning

confidence: 88%

Using three pairs of competitive indices to test for changes in plant competition under different resource and disturbance levels

Carlyle¹,

Fraser²,

Turkington³

2010

Journal of Vegetation Science

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Questions: How do different resource and disturbance levels interact to affect competition? How do different indices of competition change the interpretation of how competition changes under different resource and disturbance conditions? Location: Greenhouse, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Methods: Three pairs of indices that have been used to differentiate the predictions of Grime (CSR) and Tilman's (R Ã ) theories were used to assess competition on two species of temperate bunchgrass, (Pseudorogeneria spicata and Festuca campestris) grown in a greenhouse on stress and disturbance gradients. Stress was created by manipulating the amount of water (high, low) and concentration of nutrient solution (high, low) added to pots, while disturbance was created by clipping (clipped, unclipped) in a fully factorial design. Plants were grown individually or with a single neighbour. The three pairs of indices were: (1) absolute and relative competition; (2) competitive effect and response; and, (3) competitive importance and intensity. Results: Absolute competition and competitive importance were the only indices responsive to the resource gradient, which supports CSR theory, and also the only ones to record an effect of disturbance on the strength of competition -under high resource conditions. The other indices showed few responses along the gradients, which supports R Ã theory. Measures of competitive effect and response did not differentiate the two theories. Conclusion: We show that some indices of competition show a decline with increased stress and disturbance, while other indices do not. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a competition index appropriate to the question being asked. Competitive importance and absolute competition were responsive to changes in stress and disturbance, while the other indices were not.Keywords: Absolute and relative competition; Clipping; Competitive effect and response; CSR strategy theory; Drought; Festuca campestris; Importance and intensity of competition; Nutrient availability; Pseudoroegneria spicata; R Ã theory. Nomenclature: Douglas et al. (1994).Abbreviations: C ab 5 absolute competition; C int 5 competitive intensity; C imp 5 competitive importance; C e 5 competitive effect; C r 5 competitive response.

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Section: Interacting Effects On Biomassmentioning

confidence: 88%

Using three pairs of competitive indices to test for changes in plant competition under different resource and disturbance levels

Carlyle¹,

Fraser²,

Turkington³

2010

Journal of Vegetation Science

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“…However, we did find that biota from moister soils tended to negatively impact root biomass production. In a grassland ecosystem where water often limits plant growth (Vujnovic, Wein, & Dale, ), this may actually pose a constraint on plant foraging, where plants foraging for water will also encounter more detrimental soil biota.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil biotic quality lacks spatial structure and is positively associated with fertility in a northern grassland

et al. 2017

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Abstract1. When placing roots in the soil, plants integrate information about soil nutrients, plant neighbours and beneficial/detrimental soil organisms. While the fine-scale spatial heterogeneity in soil nutrients and plant neighbours have been described previously, virtually nothing is known about the spatial structure in soil biotic quality (measured here as a soil Biota-Induced plant Growth Response, or BIGR), or its correlation with nutrients or neighbours. Such correlations could imply trade-offs in root placement decisions.2. Theory would predict that soil BIGR is (1) negatively related to soil fertility and (2) associated with plant community structure, such that plants influence soil biota (and vice versa) through plant-soil feedbacks. We would also expect that since plants have species-specific impacts on soil organisms, spatially homogeneous plant communities should also homogenize soil BIGR.3. Here, we test these hypotheses in a semi-arid grassland by (1) characterizing the spatial structure of soil BIGR at a scale experienced by an individual plant and (2) correlating it to soil abiotic properties and plant community structure. We do so in two types of plant communities: (1) low-diversity patches dominated by an invasive grass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) and (2) patches covered mostly by native vegetation, with the expectation that dominance by Bromus would homogenize soil BIGR. 4. Soil BIGR was spatially heterogeneous, but not autocorrelated. This was true in both vegetation types (Bromus-invaded vs. native patches). Conversely, soil abiotic properties and plant community structure were frequently spatially autocorrelated at similar scales. Also, contrary to many studies, we found a positive correlation between soil BIGR and soil fertility. Soil BIGR was also associated with plant community structure. 5.Synthesis. The positive correlation between soil BIGR and some soil nutrient levels suggests that plants do not necessarily trade-off between foraging for nutrients vs.biotic interactions: nutritional cues could rather indicate the presence of beneficial soil biota. Moreover, the spatial structure in plant communities, coupled with their correlation with soil BIGR, jointly suggest that plant-soil feedbacks operate at local scales in the field: this has been identified in modelling studies as an important driver of plant coexistence. K E Y W O R D Sinformation integration, mutualisms, nutritional cues, phenotypic plasticity, plant coexistence, plant-soil feedbacks, root foraging behaviour, soil biota, soil micro-organisms, spatial scale

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“…It was revealed that A. patens is widely distributed in Saskatchewan and that the Prairie ecozone represents the center of the current species range in the province. Although common in all types of prairies it seems to be especially linked with the endangered fescue prairie 38 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Multiple Data Sources on Species Distribution for Biodiversity Assessment: The Prarie Crocus (Anemone Patens) as a Case Study

Kricsfalusy¹,

Li²,

Gupta³

2015

bluejay

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Factors determining the centrifugal organization of remnant Festuca grassland communities in Alberta

Cited by 10 publications

References 32 publications

Using three pairs of competitive indices to test for changes in plant competition under different resource and disturbance levels

Using three pairs of competitive indices to test for changes in plant competition under different resource and disturbance levels

Soil biotic quality lacks spatial structure and is positively associated with fertility in a northern grassland

Using Multiple Data Sources on Species Distribution for Biodiversity Assessment: The Prarie Crocus (Anemone Patens) as a Case Study

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