Interactions between root and shoot competition among four plant species in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau

Song, Minghua; Tian, Yongtao; Xu, Xingliang; Hu, Qiwu; Ouyang, Hao

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2005.10.005

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Evidence for interactions between root and shoot competition in the literature is mixed (e.g. Wilson 1988;Cahill 2002;Song et al 2006), and it has been suggested that the probability of detecting asymmetry in above-and below-ground competitive responses may depend on plant density, resource availability, plant growth form or the stand structure present (Schwinning and Weiner 1998;Cahill 1999). Establishing woody seedlings may tend to compete size-symmetrically with grass competitors early in development, but interactions between root and shoot competition could occur as woody seedlings become more dominant in the vegetation size hierarchy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Responses of Fraxinus excelsior seedlings to grass-induced above- and below-ground competition

2007

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The competitive interactions between woody seedlings and herbaceous vegetation have received increasing interest in recent years. However, little is known about the relative contributions and underlying mechanisms of above-and below-ground competition between species. We used a novel experimental approach to assess the responses of Fraxinus excelsior seedlings to different combinations of root and shoot competition imposed by the grass Dactylis glomerata under greenhouse conditions. Seedling growth was significantly reduced by competition for soil resources, but neither biomass nor height were significantly affected by shoot competition for light. Competitive response indices based on biomass confirmed that below-ground competition was more important than above-ground competition, and indicated that root and shoot competition did not interact to influence plant growth. Fraxinus biomass allocation and seedling traits were almost all significantly affected by root competition; these responses varied depending on the trait examined. In contrast, morphological responses to shoot competition were limited. In the absence of root competition, seedlings showed a significant increase in the biomass allocated to leaves and a greater leaf area ratio in response to shoot competition. Our findings suggest that morphological modifications help to mitigate the negative effects of competition, but the expression of plasticity may be suboptimal due to resource constraints. The present study also highlights the importance of appropriate experimental controls and analysis to avoid confounding effects of experimental design and ontogeny on the interpretation of competitive responses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Responses of Fraxinus excelsior seedlings to grass-induced above- and below-ground competition

2007

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“…Consequently, inter-specific competition has been considered as a key process regulating population size, community structure and diversity (Simard & Sachs 2004;Song et al 2006). In addition, intraspecific competition has also been reported to be an important mortality factor in plant population dynamics (Watkinson 1986;Willson 1992;Wang et al 2005) and vegetative growth and reproductive output have been found to be significantly affected in high competition regimes (Watkinson 1986;Weiner et al 1990;Powelson & Lieffers 1992;McLachlan et al 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of fertilization and neighbour removal on biomass allocation and fruit production inCistus ladanifer

Delgado

Serrano

López

et al. 2011

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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The aim of this article was to assess short-term (11 months) changes in vegetative biomass allocation and in reproductive output in response to increased nutrient availability and to different intra-specific competition scenarios in adult C. ladanifer plants. We performed a factorial field experiment with four treatments: (1) no fertilization and no neighbour removal, (2) fertilization (400 kg ha 71 of controlled release NPK fertilizer) and no neighbour removal, (3) no fertilization and neighbour removal (all vegetation growing within a 2 m radius around the target plant were cut) and (4) fertilization and neighbour removal. We found a significant interaction between fertilization and neighbour removal affecting patterns of biomass allocation; plants without neighbours allocated relatively more biomass to leaves and less to branches only in the nonfertilized group, with no evident effect on the fertilized one. Furthermore, the positive effects of neighbour removal on number and biomass of fruits were appreciable regardless of nutrient conditions, which suggest that competition intensity was independent from soil fertility.

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“…Previous field investigations on plant-plant interactions suggested that the balance between competition and facilitation among the plants in the alpine meadow ecosystems are species specific, and the net interactions varied from competition to facilitation. The interactions mediated the nutrient utilization of plants (Song et al 2006). But it is unclear if the interactions also influenced the partitioning of inorganic N between plants and soil microorganisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of plant species mediated plant competition for inorganic nitrogen with soil microorganisms in an alpine meadow

Song

et al. 2007

Plant Soil

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Sources of competition for limited soil resources, such as nitrogen, include competitive interactions among different plant species and between plants and soil microbes. We hypothesized that plant interactions intensified plant competition for inorganic nitrogen with soil microorganisms. To test these competitive interactions, one dominant species (Kobresia humilis Serg) and one less abundant gramineous herb (Elymus nutans Griseb) in an alpine ecosystem were selected as target species to grow under interactions with their neighboring plants and without interaction treatments in field plots.15 Nlabeled ammonium and nitrate were used to quantify their partition between plants and soil microorganisms for 48 h after tracer additions. Responses of K. humilis to interactions from their surrounding plants were negative, while those of E. nutans were positive. Species identity, inorganic nitrogen forms, and plant interactions significantly affected the total amount of nitrogen utilization by soil microorganisms and plants. Although

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Interactions between root and shoot competition among four plant species in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 35 publications

References 41 publications

Responses of Fraxinus excelsior seedlings to grass-induced above- and below-ground competition

Responses of Fraxinus excelsior seedlings to grass-induced above- and below-ground competition

Effects of fertilization and neighbour removal on biomass allocation and fruit production inCistus ladanifer

Interactions of plant species mediated plant competition for inorganic nitrogen with soil microorganisms in an alpine meadow

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