Fire occurrence and tussock size modulate facilitation by Ampelodesmos mauritanicus

Incerti, Guido; Giordano, Daniele; Stinca, Adriano; Senatore, Mauro; Termolino, Pasquale; Mazzoleni, Stefano; Bonanomi, Giuliano

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2013.03.012

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This pattern resembles the well‐known central die‐back phenomenon reported for grasses, sedges and woody plants (Watt ; Incerti et al. ; Bonanomi et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Microclimate buffering and fertility island formation during Juniperus communis ontogenesis modulate competition–facilitation balance

Allegrezza

Corti

Cocco

et al. 2016

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims: Facilitation has been reported in a wide range of plant communities, with evidence of positive interactions between beneficiary and nurse plants shifting during their ontogenetic development. This study explored the hypothesis that shrubs of Juniperus communis subsp. nana (thereafter Juniperus) play a crucial role in the successional sequence of plant communities acting as nurse for different species, but only after reaching a certain size. In addition, we examined whether plant-plant interaction changes during ontogenesis of these shrubs in the presence of contrasting disturbance regimes in terms of substrate stability. Location: Sibillini National Park, central Italy. The vegetation is semi-natural dry grasslands (92/43/EEC Habitats Directive: Habitat 6210 -Festuco-Brometalia).Methods: Field measurements were carried out to assess the effects of Juniperus on (1) the distribution of co-existing vascular species, (2) the above-and belowground microclimate, and (3) changes in soil fertility and hydrology.Results: The capacity of Juniperus shrubs to facilitate heterospecific plants considerably increases during its ontogenetic development, i.e. small shrubs mainly compete for resources with local vegetation, whereas large shrubs act as nurse plants for herbaceous and especially for woody species. The facilitation effect was slight, albeit significantly higher in the disturbed area than in the more stable one. Juniperus was able to promote the formation of an island of fertility under its canopy by accumulating a considerable amount of organic matter, N, P, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and K + in a few decades. Juniperus shrubs improve soil hydrological properties and mitigate the daily range of soil temperature, reducing the exposure of co-existing plants to high temperatures and water loss through soil evaporation, particularly during the growing periods in spring and summer.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that biogenic amelioration of soil quality, coupled with the mitigation of below-canopy microclimatic conditions, control the establishment and growth of co-existing plants during Juniperus shrub development.

show abstract

“…This pattern resembles the well‐known central die‐back phenomenon reported for grasses, sedges and woody plants (Watt ; Incerti et al. ; Bonanomi et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Microclimate buffering and fertility island formation during Juniperus communis ontogenesis modulate competition–facilitation balance

Allegrezza

Corti

Cocco

et al. 2016

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Comparison of our data with data gathered for another facilitation study (Butterfield et al., ) at one of our sites (Val Bercla at Fallerfurgga) shows that our control areas had significantly higher species richness (Supporting Information Figure A8a in Appendix ), however our data represents the lower end of cushion size distribution (Supporting Information Figure A8b in Appendix ). As found in many other studies, we would expect a positive correlation between nurse plant size and species richness and diversity (e.g., Incerti et al., ; Molenda, Reid, & Lortie, ; Tewksbury & Lloyd, ; Yang, Chen, Schöb, & Hang, ). Smaller nurse plants understandably cannot provide the same microhabitat shelter that larger ones do, and likely act as competitors to other species in the area as they establish.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability

Chardon

Wipf

Rixen

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global change is modifying species communities from local to landscape scales, with alterations in the abiotic and biotic determinants of geographic range limits causing species range shifts along both latitudinal and elevational gradients. An important but often overlooked component of global change is the effect of anthropogenic disturbance, and how it interacts with the effects of climate to affect both species and communities, as well as interspecies interactions, such as facilitation and competition. We examined the effects of frequent human trampling disturbances on alpine plant communities in Switzerland, focusing on the elevational range of the widely distributed cushion plant Silene acaulis and the interactions of this facilitator species with other plants. Examining size distributions and densities, we found that disturbance appears to favor individual Silene growth at middle elevations. However, it has negative effects at the population level, as evidenced by a reduction in population density and reproductive indices. Disturbance synergistically interacts with the effects of elevation to reduce species richness at low and high elevations, an effect not mitigated by Silene. In fact, we find predominantly competitive interactions, both by Silene on its hosted and neighboring species and by neighboring (but not hosted) species on Silene. Our results indicate that disturbance can be beneficial for Silene individual performance, potentially through changes in its neighboring species community. However, possible reduced recruitment in disturbed areas could eventually lead to population declines. While other studies have shown that light to moderate disturbances can maintain high species diversity, our results emphasize that heavier disturbance reduces species richness, diversity, as well as percent cover, and adversely affects cushion plants and that these effects are not substantially reduced by plant–plant interactions. Heavily disturbed alpine systems could therefore be at greater risk for upward encroachment of lower elevation species in a warming world.

show abstract

“…HMM has been identifies as a hotspot for temperate biodiversity (Mittermeier et al, 1999), supporting the globally richest alpine flora (Xu et al, 2014) where facilitation by cushion plants is key to structure diversity and composition of natural communities in these species-rich alpine habitats (Chen et al, 2015). It has been suggested that for potential nurse plants to facilitate other plants effectively, specific morphological traits and an adequate size are required to provide shelter and/or protect from hostile conditions (Incerti et al, 2013). One previous study indicated the importance of facilitative effect of A. polytrichoides cushions on increasing species richness in the alpine zone of the HHM and attributed this to nutrient enrichment under cushions at high elevation sites (Yang et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arenaria polytrichoides (Caryophyllaceae) is a common cushion plant occurring at high elevations in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, SW China. It frequently has other non-cushion species growing within its canopy, forming a contrast with the surrounding areas because it creates patches of higher diversity and greater biomass. In this study, we examined the relationship between the cushions and associated non-cushion species along a gradient of cushion size. A total of 200 A. polytrichoides individuals were selected to fit four size classes. Field measurements were carried out to assess canopy structure, functional traits relevant to growth and reproduction, and soil quality below cushions along the size gradient. Furthermore, the size effect of cushions on the richness and abundance of species and biomass production was also examined. All the morphological variables examined exhibited a positive correlation with cushion size, as did the nutrients under cushions. Large and compact cushions were associated with higher soil nutrient contents compared with small and loose cushions. As a result of these biogenic environmental changes, there was a stronger facilitation effect performed by large cushions. Data pertaining to functional traits revealed that large cushions benefit from the enhanced resources within their compact structure and exhibit greater fitness and a higher reproductive output than small cushions. Our data indicated that interactions occur between cushion species and other plants depending on the size of the cushions, probably because of the greater heterogeneity of conditions beneath larger cushions. These findings provide a clear demonstration of the generally overlooked importance of the traits of nurse plants, such as size and age, in terms of their facilitative effects.

show abstract

Fire occurrence and tussock size modulate facilitation by Ampelodesmos mauritanicus

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Microclimate buffering and fertility island formation during Juniperus communis ontogenesis modulate competition–facilitation balance

Microclimate buffering and fertility island formation during Juniperus communis ontogenesis modulate competition–facilitation balance

Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability

Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About