Negative Associations between Seedlings and Adult Plants in Two Alpine Plant Communities

Forbis, Tara A.

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-41.3.301

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…In contrast, Forbis (2009) and Klanderud (2010) postulated negative interactions between seedlings and adult plants in alpine environments along productivity and moisture gradients, respectively. Thus, it is still a matter of debate whether positive or negative interactions prevail in stressful alpine environments (Brooker et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Gaps in vegetation provide entry points for new species and are, therefore, essential for community dynamics and the maintenance of species diversity (reviews in Ryser 1993;Bullock et al 1995;Forbis 2009). In the dense vegetation of lowland communities, the importance of gaps for seedling recruitment has been experimentally shown: gaps reduce competition (Silvertown 1981;Silvertown and Smith 1988;Callaway et al 2002) and provide regeneration niches (Grubb 1977).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Colonization of experimentally created gaps along an alpine successional gradient

et al. 2011

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The colonization of artificially created gaps was analyzed along an alpine successional gradient from pioneer to early, late, and old successional stages. The presence/absence of species and the abundances of seedlings and adults in the gaps were recorded and compared with those of the surrounding areas. We hypothesized that in the older successional stages, the gaps were likely to be colonized by clonal ingrowth of the surrounding species. In the younger stages, we expected to find a high presence of seedlings and adults recruited by seeds. Micro-succession in the gaps occurred at each successional stage, with all life forms among the colonizers. The abundance of seedlings was significantly higher in the gaps compared with the surrounding area. At the early and late successional stages, the surrounding areas provided safe sites for seedling establishment, with the abundance of adults recruited by seeds higher at the gap edges than in the gap centers. We can confirm the first hypothesis of a higher clonal ingrowth in the old successional stage. Clonal ingrowth also occurred in the younger successional stages. Despite the lower species richness in the gaps, a positive correlation was found between gap and surrounding species frequencies, which were the highest in the pioneer and the lowest in the old successional stage. We conclude that gaps are relevant for seedling recruitment along the entire primary succession gradient. New species invasions from greater distances were not observed in the gaps. The dominant species on each site were identified to be successful gap colonizers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization of experimentally created gaps along an alpine successional gradient

et al. 2011

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“…On the other hand, the germination process and seedling development in linear gaps might be much slower than in circular openings due to insufficient light availability and nutrient depletion by adult plants surrounding the openings. The phenomenon of the suppression of germination and offspring growth as a result of the uptake of resources by mature plants has been shown repeatedly over a wide range of taxa from annual weeds [45], through grassland and meadow perennials [46][47][48], to shrubs and trees [49].…”

Section: Number Of Species and Seedlings In Differently Shaped Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of the shape of gaps on microenvironmental conditions and seedling recruitment in Molinietum caeruleae meadows

Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt

2015

Acta Agrobot

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Cessation of the management of semi-natural habitats such as grasslands and meadows contributes to secondary succession and encroachment of native and alien tall-growing perennials, large tussock grasses, shrubs, and trees. Thus, the formation of gaps in the plant canopy and litter, enabling seedling recruitment, appears to be a very effective method for the restoration of several plant communities. The main objective of the research was to assess the effect of the shape of openings on microenvironmental conditions and seedling recruitment in Molinietum caeruleae patches in various habitat conditions. In all study patches, circular and linear openings, comparable in area, were randomly created through the removal of plant canopy and litter layer. The circular gaps presented greater light availability and lower soil humidity than linear openings, while soil temperature within differently shaped openings was similar. Regardless of differences in microenvironmental conditions, the total number of seedlings in differently shaped gaps did not vary considerably. Three plant categories were found: (i) those recruited mostly in circular openings, (ii) those recruited mostly in linear gaps, (iii) those colonizing circular and linear gaps similarly. The colonizers of circular gaps represented various synecological groups (ruderal, grasslands and meadows, young tree communities) and diverse life forms (therophytes, hemicryptophytes, chamaephytes, phanerophytes), while the colonizers of linear gaps were meadow and grassland hemicryptophytes. The formation of linear openings contributes to increases in the abundance of meadow taxa, while the creation of circular openings may have a negative effect, contributing to the promotion of the secondary succession process.

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“…On the other hand, lichens are non-preferred forage and likely unaffected by rodent herbivory (Virtanen 2000;Soininen et al 2013), but could be affected by trampling. Depending on habitat productivity (Suding & Goldberg 1999) and litter amount (Loydi et al 2013), litter can inhibit (Dalling & Hubbell 2002) or have no influence (Welling & Laine 2000;Forbis 2009) on seedling emergence. Some studies suggest that grazing and other rodent activities prevent the accumulation of plant litter (Sirotnak & Huntly 2000;Virtanen 2000), while Moen et al (1993) found that winter lemming grazing in snowbeds increases the amount of litter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent population dynamics affect seedling recruitment in alpine habitats

Nystuen

Evju

Rusch

et al. 2014

J Vegetation Science

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Questions: How do rodents with cyclic population dynamics affect seedling recruitment in alpine habitats? Does disturbance from rodents have larger implications on seedling recruitment in some plant communities than in others?Location: Snowbeds and sheltered heaths in the low-alpine zone in areas of Børgefjell and Dovrefjell, Norway. Methods:We recorded seedling emergence, rodent activity and cover of mosses, lichens, litter and bare ground in 270 plots in snowbeds and sheltered heaths in a rodent population peak year and in the following low-density year.Results: Seedling recruitment was positively correlated with disturbances from lemmings and voles in both years. More seedlings emerged in the low-density year than in the year of the population peak. Snowbeds had higher seedling recruitment than the sheltered heaths, but both habitats were equally affected by disturbances from rodents.Conclusions: Rodent activity created gaps and increased seedling emergence in these alpine plant communities, particularly in the year after the rodent peak, both in snowbeds and sheltered heath habitats. Our study therefore suggests that regeneration patterns in alpine vegetation are tightly linked to the population cycles of lemmings and voles, which peak in density at 3-to 5-yr intervals.

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Negative Associations between Seedlings and Adult Plants in Two Alpine Plant Communities

Cited by 6 publications

References 64 publications

Colonization of experimentally created gaps along an alpine successional gradient

Colonization of experimentally created gaps along an alpine successional gradient

The effect of the shape of gaps on microenvironmental conditions and seedling recruitment in Molinietum caeruleae meadows

Rodent population dynamics affect seedling recruitment in alpine habitats

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