Progressive effects of shading on experimental wetland communities over three years

Edelkraut, Kirsten A.; Güsewell, Sabine

doi:10.1007/s11258-005-9042-y

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…In this case, only two out of the four CI values were significantly greater than 1, which indicates that the identity of C. elata was also important for the convergence pattern through the large difference in relative growth rates between C. elata and the remaining species. C. elata took up much of the resources and dominated the mixtures, a pattern also shown by Edelkraut and Guesewell (2006). Thus, we found a convergence pattern following an abundance distribution with a clearly dominant species.…”

Section: Feedback and Convergencesupporting

confidence: 73%

Convergence patterns and multiple species interactions in a designed plant mixture of five species

et al. 2007

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It is known that convergence and divergence can occur in complex plant communities, but the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors driving these processes is less clear. We addressed this issue in an experiment using a range of mixed stands of five species that are common in Swiss fens (Carex elata, C. flava, Lycopus europaeus, Lysimachia vulgaris and Mentha aquatica) and two levels of water and nutrients. One hundred and seventy-six experimental mixtures were maintained in large pots (75 l) for two consecutive growing seasons in an experimental garden. The stands varied systematically in the initial relative abundance of each of the five species and in overall initial stand abundance. The changes in biomass over 2 years were modelled as linear functions of treatments and the initial biomass of each species. The dynamics of the system were mainly driven by differences in the identity of species and by a negative feedback mechanism but also by different abiotic conditions. In all mixtures, C. elata became more dominant over time, which caused an overall convergence of community composition. In addition, the rate of change of each species' biomass was negatively related to its own initial abundance. Thus, a negative feedback further contributed to the convergence of communities. Species responded differently to water level and nutrient supply, causing community dynamics to differ among treatments. However, the different abiotic conditions only slightly modified the overall convergence pattern. Competitive interactions between more than two species were weaker than the negative feedback but still significantly influenced the species' final relative abundance. The negative feedback suggests that there is niche partitioning between the species, which permits their coexistence.

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Section: Feedback and Convergencesupporting

confidence: 73%

Convergence patterns and multiple species interactions in a designed plant mixture of five species

et al. 2007

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“…The modular responses to canopy crowding may be among the reasons for the successful performance of grasses in communities, described for instance by Edelkraut and Gusewell (2006). Testing the response of other genera with similar tussock architecture, such as Agrostis, Calamagrostis, Lolium, Holcus, Paspalum or Schizachyrium would be desirable to prove the hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential and constraints for grasses to cope with spatially heterogeneous radiation environments

Skálová

2009

Plant Ecol

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Placing plant organs into upper canopy layers or gaps is considered advantageous for avoiding neighbours. Current research only covers the lack of selective branching in response to heterogeneous radiation in dicots. Due to some unique shade avoidance regulatory pathways and clonal structure, directional response may occur in grasses. I used Festuca rubra L., a grass with two types of branches: intravaginal tillers developed from young buds close to the primary shoot, and extravaginal tillers developed from older buds and placed on rhizomes in a certain distance from the mother tussocks. Tussocks grown from vegetativelly multiplied initial tillers were exposed to three radiation regimes in two greenhouse experiments: full sunlight, full shading simulating canopy and heterogeneous radiation. Interaction of the treatments with orientation of the initial tillers relative to their mother tillers, which may constrain morphology of the developing tussocks, were studied. Even though shading decreased the number of intravaginal tillers, heterogeneous radiation did not influence direction of their outgrowth. However, shading activated dormant buds at the tussock base and thus stimulated extravaginal tillering, with a tendency to develop more extravaginal tillers towards the shaded sites.

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“…3). C. flava reacts very sensitively to limited light (Edelkraut and Guesewell 2006), and growth of C. flava was restricted by the availability of light in the high density treatment. The two strongest competitors, C. elata and L. europaeus, prevented the growth of larger C. flava plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a permanent nutrient enrichment followed by increased biomass production occurs in the natural habitats of C. flava, the species could maintain or increase its vegetative growth and RA for some time. However, in the long term, C. flava would be edged out by competition due to light limitation (Edelkraut and Guesewell 2006;Suter et al 2007) and the species would survive only in the soil seed bank (Schmid 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive allocation of Carex flava reacts differently to competition and resources in a designed plant mixture of five species

Suter

2008

Plant Ecol

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In natural plant communities, reproductive allocation can be affected by complex interactions among abiotic resources, species competition and plant size. This topic was addressed using a variety of designed mixed stands of five species (Carex elata, Carex flava, Lycopus europaeus, Lysimachia vulgaris and Mentha aquatica) under four abiotic conditions to investigate how competition and abiotic resources influence the reproductive allocation of one of the five species, C. flava. The plant mixtures varied systematically in both the relative abundance of the five species and the absolute density, and were each established with two levels of water and nutrients. In total, 176 mixtures were maintained for two growing seasons in large pots in an experimental garden. Reproductive allocation of C. flava increased from 6.8% to 9.7% under high nutrient application; however, for both nutrient levels, reproductive allocation was independent of shoot mass (sizeindependent allocation). Under low competition, reproductive allocation of C. flava decreased as its shoot mass increased, indicating a relatively high investment in vegetative structures under higher light availability. However, under strong competition, the allocation pattern changed and a constant reproductive allocation for different plant sizes was observed. Different water levels did not influence the shoot mass, seed mass or reproductive allocation of C. flava, indicating that the species was not stressed under dryer conditions. When under competitive pressure, however, the species responded with reduced shoot and seed production under more favourable water conditions. This behaviour indicates a trade-off between the ability to tolerate stress and the competitive and reproductive response of C. flava. In conclusion, C. flava was adversely affected by competition with some of the species, and competition, mediated by plant size, indirectly affected reproductive allocation. C. flava was able to modify its allocation pattern depending on the available resources and retained its reproductive allocation even under unfavourable conditions for varying plant sizes, which is interpreted as an advantageous reaction to greater competition pressure.

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Progressive effects of shading on experimental wetland communities over three years

Cited by 15 publications

References 49 publications

Convergence patterns and multiple species interactions in a designed plant mixture of five species

Convergence patterns and multiple species interactions in a designed plant mixture of five species

Potential and constraints for grasses to cope with spatially heterogeneous radiation environments

Reproductive allocation of Carex flava reacts differently to competition and resources in a designed plant mixture of five species

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