Competition and Succession in an Aspen-White-Pine Forest

Peterson, Chris J.; Squiers, Edwin R.

doi:10.2307/2261598

Cited by 55 publications

(66 citation statements)

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“…When competition is introduced, size structures become positively skewed as a result of differences in relative growth rate of small and large trees [31]. When competition is assymetric, as in competition for light, large individuals suppress growth of smaller ones more than would be expected from their relative sizes [14,33,46]. A population with a more asymmetric size structure is assumed to experience more asymmetric competition for light whereas a population with a more symmetric size structure would compete for other resources.…”

Section: Size Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, spatial distribution and competition in mixed jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands on clay soils of eastern Canada

et al. 2003

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-The dynamics of pure jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands and of those also comprising a component of white birch (Betula papyrifera) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) was assessed in natural post-fire stands on clay soils of eastern Canada boreal mixed woods in order to shed some light on mechanisms controlling composition. Age structures indicated that the presence of birch or aspen merely shortened the establishment of jack pine. Basal area structures of jack pine showed lower skewness coefficients in mixtures with birch than in pure jack pine stands or when mixed with aspen indicating that birch is probably a weaker competitor. Its effect on mean pine diameter probably reflects the lower pine stem density when mixed with birch. Inter-specific competition however had no effect on pine diameter at the tree level. Competition between birch, aspen and pine is avoided by species spatial exclusion measured by Ripley's statistic and reflects the reproductive strategies of the species and history of the site.Ripley's K / asymmetric competition / interspecific competition / composition / stand structure Résumé -Structure, distribution spatiale et compétition dans les peuplements mélangés et purs de pin gris (Pinus banksiana) sur argile dans l'est canadien. Nous avons étudié la dynamique des peuplements de pin gris purs (Pinus banksiana) et mélangés au bouleau à papier (Betula papyrifera) et au peuplier faux-tremble (Populus tremuloides), établis naturellement après un incendie sur sol argileux en forêt boréale mixte de l'est canadien dans le but de mieux comprendre ce qui contrôle leur composition. Les structures d'âge indiquent peu de différence dans le délai d'établissement du pin gris selon la composition. Les surfaces terrières des pins gris montrent de plus faibles coefficients d'asymétrie en mélange avec le bouleau qu'avec le peuplier, ce qui laisse à penser que le bouleau est un plus faible compétiteur. L'effet du bouleau sur le diamètre moyen du pin reflète la plus faible densité du pin en peuplements mélangés à du bouleau. La compétition interspécifique n'a cependant pas affecté le diamètre du pin à l'échelle de l'arbre. La compétition interspécifique est évitée par l'exclusion spatiale des espèces mise en évidence par la statistique de Ripley, ce qui reflète leur stratégies reproductives et l'historique du site.statistique K de Ripley / compétition asymétrique / compétition interspécifique / composition / structure des peuplements

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Section: Size Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, spatial distribution and competition in mixed jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands on clay soils of eastern Canada

et al. 2003

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“…The significant additive negative effect of the smaller neighbors on diameter growth and survival of Cecropia suggests that competition was at least partially symmetric, which often is taken as an indication that the competition for belowground resources plays an important role (e.g., Thomas and Weiner 1989;Peterson and Squiers 1995). However, it has also been argued that, even if competition is mediated by light, the degree of asymmetry may differ depending on crown allometry of competing trees and canopy structure of the stand (Kikuzawa and Umeki 1996), which may result from species differences (Uriarte et al 2004(Uriarte et al , 2005Selaya et al 2007;Kuijk et al 2008;Uriarte et al 2010).…”

Section: Symmetry Does Not Necessarily Imply Belowground Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Competition for soil water and nutrients, in contrast, is often taken to be symmetric, based on the premise that roots generate depletion zones around their surfaces and thus restrict resource availability for other roots relative to plant size (Noordwijk et al 1996;Schwinning and Weiner 1998;Casper et al 2003;but see Rajaniemi 2003). In temperate secondary forests, different degrees of asymmetry have been reported and it has been suggested that this reflects variation in the relative role of light competition among sites (Thomas and Weiner 1989;Peterson and Squiers 1995;Kikuzawa and Umeki 1996). The importance of light as a limiting factor may also be inferred from allocation patterns, as trees generally tend to allocate resources to height growth at the expense of diameter growth under low-light conditions, particularly in the case of early successional species (Kohyama and Hotta 1990;King 1996;Poorter 2001;Sterck 2005), making it a useful variable to assess the relative importance of competition for light in the early phases of succession.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative importance of above- versus belowground competition for tree growth during early succession of a tropical moist forest

Breugel

Breugel²,

Jansen

et al. 2011

Plant Ecol

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Competition between neighboring plants plays a major role in the population dynamics of tree species in the early phases of humid tropical forest succession. We evaluated the relative importance of above-versus below-ground competition during the first years of old-field succession on soil with low fertility in Southern Mexico, using the premise that competition for light is size-asymmetric, unlike competition for nutrients. Plant growth is thus expected to be disproportionally impeded by larger neighbors. We studied how growth and survival of 3.5-5.5 m tall saplings of Cecropia peltata and Trichospermum mexicanum, two pioneer species that dominate the secondary forests in the study region, varied with the abundance and size of neighboring trees in 1-2 year old secondary vegetation. We found that local neighborhood basal area varied 10-fold (3 to 30 cm 2 m -2 ) and explained most of the variation in diameter and height growth of the target saplings. Most growth variables were strongly affected by the neighbors bigger than the focal trees with no significant additive effect of the smaller neighbors, indicating asymmetric competition. Smaller neighbors did have a small but significant additive effect on the diameter growth of Cecropia saplings and stem slenderness of Trichospermum saplings. We conclude that competition for light was more important than belowground competition in this initial phase of moist tropical forest successional, despite the low soil fertility.

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“…This is a logistical hurdle, especially given the difficulty of sampling sun-exposed leaves of adults. However, because size structure can play an important role in competition (6,7), overcoming these challenges seems necessary for understanding the assembly of a forest community where individuals vary so greatly in size. One alternative is to sample randomly from the known intraspecific distributions of traits for individuals within a given size class and light environment within each species when assigning trait values, that is, to consider the extreme case we described.…”

Section: Wwwsciencemagorg Science Vol 324 22 May 2009mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on “Functional Traits and Niche-Based Tree Community Assembly in an Amazonian Forest”

Lake

Ostling

2009

Science

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Kraft et al. (Reports, 24 October 2008, p. 580) used a variety of metrics describing the distribution of functional traits within a tropical forest community to demonstrate simultaneous environmental filtering and niche differentiation. We discuss how these results could have arisen from sampling design and statistical assumptions, suggesting alternative approaches that could better resolve these questions.K raft et al.(1) used the distribution of functional traits in a diverse tropical forest community to test hypotheses of community assembly. The study focused on six traits that drive diverse ecological functions. By comparing metrics of observed distributions of each trait with those expected under different null models, the authors showed evidence for both classical niche differentiation and environmental filtering at the scale of 20-by 20-m quadrats. Relative to null expectations, environmental filtering was indicated by shifting trait means, decreased trait range, and variance within quadrats, whereas differentiation was indicated by overdispersion, measured by standard deviation (SD) of nearestneighbor distance in trait space, and kurtosis of the within-quadrat trait distribution. Combined, these tests were used to argue for the important role of stabilizing processes in the maintenance of biodiversity in a hyperdiverse tropical forest. This approach represents movement toward a more comprehensive use of functional traits in testing processes of community assembly. Nevertheless, there are some subtle problems in the Kraft et al. analysis that we expand upon here.First, Kraft et al.(1) inappropriately tested for both environmental filtering and niche differentiation using null models that select randomly from the entire species pool. If environmental filtering limits the range of traits of species that can occur in a given quadrat, an accurate test of niche differentiation within quadrats must sample only from species that fall between the minimum and maximum traits present in a quadrat. The larger the available trait space, the larger the possible range of nearest-neighbor distances in trait space, and hence the bigger the SD of nearest-neighbor distances will be under a random draw from that available trait space. Thus, if limitations on the range of trait values in each quadrat due to habitat filtering are not accounted for in the null trait distribution used in the niche differentiation test, one might artificially conclude that the observed SD of nearest-neighbor distances is smaller than expected by chance and that niche differentiation is occurring. Similar problems might arise in the comparison of kurtosis values.Second, Kraft et al. ignored intraspecific variation. Due to the obvious difficulty of collecting trait data for all individuals, the authors targeted outer canopy leaves of trees in the 1-to 5-cm diameter at breast height (dbh) size class growing under closed canopy that were readily accessed from the ground, leading to a collection of 2 to 5 leaves from 1 to 20 individuals for most of t...

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Competition and Succession in an Aspen-White-Pine Forest

Cited by 55 publications

References 55 publications

Structure, spatial distribution and competition in mixed jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands on clay soils of eastern Canada

Structure, spatial distribution and competition in mixed jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands on clay soils of eastern Canada

The relative importance of above- versus belowground competition for tree growth during early succession of a tropical moist forest

Comment on “Functional Traits and Niche-Based Tree Community Assembly in an Amazonian Forest”

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