Analysis of interspecific competition in perennial plants using Life Table Response Experiments

Fréville, Hélène; Silvertown, Jonathan

doi:10.1007/s11258-004-0017-1

Cited by 32 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Length of stem did not significantly vary between years and treatments. This corresponds to the findings of Fréville and Silvertown (2005), who reported that interspecific competition mainly affects fecundity, which is recognised by a decreasing number of flowers, fruits and seeds per fruit. Our results are also in line with that of Partzsch et al (2010) who revealed that F. rupicola negatively affects flower and seed production of the rare, lowgrowing Alyssum montanum.…”

Section: Performance Of Plant Parameterssupporting

confidence: 91%

Is Campanula glomerata threatened by competition from expanding grasses? Results from a 5-year pot-experiment

Partzsch

Bachmann

2010

Plant Ecol

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The disappearance of low-intensity types of agricultural land use such as mowing and grazing is a global phenomenon which leads to changes in species composition and interactions in plant communities. In central Germany, formerly species-rich, semi-natural dry grasslands have been converted into species-poor communities dominated by Festuca rupicola or Poa angustifolia. As a consequence, several forbs have become endangered, and biodiversity has decreased. In a 5-year competition experiment (replacement design; pots were placed outdoors at Halle Botanical Garden), we evaluated the performance of plant-plant interactions between the rare forb Campanula glomerata, F. rupicola and P. angustifolia, respectively. The response of C. glomerata to the presence of the two grass species were measured by stem length, number of flowers and above-ground biomass annually harvested. We did not find significant differences in C. glomerata stem lengths between years and treatments, but flower production, which was highest in the first year, strongly decreased in the subsequent years. Moreover, flower production was lower in combination with P. angustifolia than with F. rupicola. Biomass production showed significant differences between years, but not between treatments. The positive and negative interactions between C. glomerata and the two grass species was estimated by calculating Relative Neighbour Effect Index (RNE). In combination with F. rupicola, interactions switched between facilitation and competition from year to year. In the presence of P. angustifolia, competitive effects on C. glomerata were highest in the second year, but declined from year to year. Curiously, there were no significant correlations between positive and negative interactions with climatic conditions (annual temperature, precipitation and relative air humidity). Our results showed that the response of the rare forb C. glomerata varies with neighbour species, and that fecundity is more prominently affected by competition than stem height or biomass. Our data indicate that biomass removal by traditional land use methods would facilitate the restoration of species-rich dry grassland communities.

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Section: Performance Of Plant Parameterssupporting

confidence: 91%

Is Campanula glomerata threatened by competition from expanding grasses? Results from a 5-year pot-experiment

Partzsch

Bachmann

2010

Plant Ecol

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“…In addition to biomass development -which was only slightly affected -the presence of F. rupicola had a considerable negative effect on several quantitative parameters of A. montanum fitness, such as number of fruits. The assumption that plant fecundity is often more severely affected by interspecific competition than survival and growth was also verified by Fréville and Silvertown (2005) in a comparative study on grassland species. Our data contrast those of Bachmann et al (2005), who even reported a facilitation of the rare Campanula glomerata by the same grass species F. rupicola.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

A Comparative Study of Germination Biology and Plant Performance in Two Dry Grassland Species

2010

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Over the last 20 years, the species assemblage of the species-rich dry grassland communities of central Germany has changed due to the ongoing abandonment of traditional land-use practices. In our study we wanted to investigate the germination biology and the plant-plant interaction of the low-growing and declining forb Alyssum montanum and the increasingly dominant grass Festuca rupicola. To investigate the germination behaviour we simulated cold (8/4°C), warm (20/10°C) and hot (32/20°C) conditions under a light-dark regime (12/12 hours) as well as in constant darkness. Germination of both species was similar with almost all non-dormant seeds germinating under intermediate temperature conditions (20/10°C). Whereas F. rupicola (F) germinated equally well under light changing conditions and constant darkness, the germination of A. montanum (A) was clearly reduced in darkness, which implies a strong competitive advantage of F. rupicola in dense vegetation cover. However, A. montanum germinated early under all temperatures regimes and better under 20/10°C as well as with light changing conditions. The interactions between the two species were tested in a pod-experiment with a replacement design, within which the composition of individuals was changed in the following way: 4A/1F, 3A/2F, 2A/3F, 1A/4F (eight replications per each). To evaluate any influence of intraspecific competition we created monocultures in an additive design (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 1F, 5F; eight replications per each). Despite that A. montanum developed faster and flowered after only four months in the replacement design experiment, the herb responded negatively to the presence of F. rupicola in several parameters (number of flowers, number of fruits and biomass per individual). The calculation of the Relative Neighbour Effect (RNE) indicated facilitation for F. rupicola and competition on A. montanum, which increased with increasing number of individuals of the other species. Our data suggest that A. montanum seedling recruitment, growth and fitness are negatively affected by increasing vegetation density of the expanding grass species F. rupicola.

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“…The use of demographic tools is a promising way to study such plant interactions and their consequence at the population and community level. For example, ''Life table response experiments'' have been used to detect the effect of competition on plant vital rates and how vital rates affect population growth rate (Freville and Silvertown 2005). We strongly advocate the integration of individual-based processes in further studies of population and community organisation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential impacts of plant interactions on herbaceous species recruitment: disentangling factors controlling emergence, survival and growth of seedlings

2009

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Recruitment is a crucial event in the plant life cycle that is very sensitive to interaction with established vegetation. Based on a large comparative experiment, we tested the hypothesis that the components of recruitment--emergence time and rate, seedling survival and biomass--differ in response to plant-plant interactions during recruitment. The consequences for the population are predicted with a simple demographic model assessing the response of seed production. In a common garden experiment, we recorded the recruitment of four target species in an individual-based survey protocol. A total of 7,680 seeds were sown within 20 neighbourhoods, consisting of 19 mono-specific herbaceous stands and a control treatment without vegetation. We measured transmitted light, temperature and moisture at soil surface to characterise the environmental conditions within neighbourhoods. The mean height of neighbours controlled temperature buffering and light interception and thus depicted the interaction gradient. Emergence rate and time increased with neighbour height in two of the four target species, while seedling survival and biomass significantly decreased with neighbour height in three and all four target species, respectively. We recorded a shift in seedling neighbour interactions under the tallest neighbours that largely favoured emergence but strongly depressed seedling survival and biomass. The components of recruitment were predicted to differ in their impact on later adult performance. Biomass strongly contributed to predicted seed production in three target species, and emergence had an equal or greater impact on a fourth species. These results confirm the fundamental role of plant-plant interactions in the recruitment of herbaceous species through a complex combination of habitat amelioration, which facilitates emergence and light competition, which in turn limits seedling survival and biomass.

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Analysis of interspecific competition in perennial plants using Life Table Response Experiments

Cited by 32 publications

References 22 publications

Is Campanula glomerata threatened by competition from expanding grasses? Results from a 5-year pot-experiment

Is Campanula glomerata threatened by competition from expanding grasses? Results from a 5-year pot-experiment

A Comparative Study of Germination Biology and Plant Performance in Two Dry Grassland Species

Differential impacts of plant interactions on herbaceous species recruitment: disentangling factors controlling emergence, survival and growth of seedlings

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