Phytoedaphic Relationships in Alpine Tundra of North-Central Colorado, U.S.A.

Eddleman, Lee E.; Ward, Richard T.

doi:10.2307/1550944

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Species diversity is high, and there is high turnover in species composition with relatively small changes in landscape (Billings 1974). Correlations among plant distributions and environmental variables have been studied in a large number of alpine environments (Braun-Blanquet 1926, Komarkova and Webber 1978, Eddleman and Ward 1984, Isard 1986, Gensac 1990, Kirkpatrick and Bridle 1998. Furthermore, there are numerous studies of spatial associations among alpine and arctic plants in which extreme clumping among species has been interpreted as evidence for facilitation (Sohlberg and Bliss 1984, Alliende and Hoffman 1985, Kikvidze 1993, Aksenova et al 1998, Kikvidze and Nakhutsrishvili 1998, Nuñez et al 1999.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation and Competition on Gradients in Alpine Plant Communities

Choler

Michalet²,

Callaway

2001

Ecology

642

543

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We conducted a neighbor removal experiment in natural alpine plant communities of the southwestern Alps to test for the relative importance of competitive and facilitative interactions along elevational and topographical gradients. The experimental sites were chosen to encompass most of the floristic diversity observed along gradients of elevation and topography, which are the two main ecological gradients associated with alpine plant communities in the western Alps. The effects of neighbor removal on the survival, aboveground biomass, and reproduction of five target species were tested at each of six experimental sites. Using biomass data, we calculated relative competitive index (RCI) and log response ratio (LRR) as measures of interaction strength and direction. We found highly significant shifts from strong competitive effects in low and sheltered sites to strong facilitative responses in high and exposed sites. When experimental results were integrated with gradient analyses, we found that the responses of particular alpine plant species to neighbor removal generally depended on the species' position on elevational and topographical gradients. When neighbors were removed from around target species at experimental sites that were lower in elevation than the distributional mean of the target species, biomass generally increased. When neighbors were removed from around target species at experimental sites that were higher in elevation than the distributional mean of the target species, biomass decreased. In other words, facilitation appeared to allow species from lower elevations to move up the gradient, but competition at low elevations appeared to restrict species from higher elevations from moving down the gradient. In high and exposed sites, experimental evidence for facilitation was coupled to small‐scale spatial associations among species, but spatial disassociation was not coupled to experimental evidence for competition at any sites. We conclude that the distribution and abundance of many species in high‐elevation communities of the western Alps appears to be enhanced by neighbors, and that species continua commonly observed along environmental gradients are the result of both negative and positive plant interactions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation and Competition on Gradients in Alpine Plant Communities

Choler

Michalet²,

Callaway

2001

Ecology

642

543

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“…(3) Are there any interactions between species? Plant distribution is influenced not only by snow conditions but also by microtopography and edaphic factors such as soil moisture, pH and organic content (Bliss 1962b;Eddleman & Ward 1984;Weir & Wilson 1987). We investigated vegetation and soil conditions in association with the length of snow-free period and the effect of microtopography in an alpine snow-bed on a block field slope.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant distribution in relation to the length of the growing season in a snow-bed in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan

Kudo

Itō

1992

Vegetatio

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The distribution pattern of plants was studied in an alpine snow-bed in six plots along a snow-melting gradient. Each plot consisted of two habitats with respect to the microtopography; the flat habitat and the mound habitat. The number of species per plot decreased with the shortened snow-free period. In the flat habitat, the dominant growth forms changed from the early exposed plots to the late exposed ones as follows; lichens ~ evergreen and deciduous shrubs ,---, forbs ~ graminoids ~ bryophytes. In the mound habitat, evergreen and deciduous shrubs prevailed widely along the gradient because of the ability to exploit new habitat by creeping over exposed rocks. For shrubs, the existence of mounds contributed to the expansion of the distribution ranges. Forbs and graminoids shifted their distribution modes to the late exposed plots where shrubs decreased in cover. Deciduous shrubs and forbs completely disappeared in the latest exposed plot.

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“…The southern Rocky Mountain sites sit above the treeline at 3700 m a.s.l. in the Front Range, Sawatch Range, and San Juan Range of Colorado at latitudes between 36º N and 38º N. These sites extend along the Continental Divide encompassing a wide range of alpine habitats, including meadows, wetlands, dwarf Salix and Dryas patches, and talus fields (Eddleman & Ward 1984). The soils throughout the range of study sites in Colorado vary considerably, from granitic to limestone-derived.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Notes on the genus Lactarius from the Rocky Mountain alpine zone in regard to Finnish arctic-alpine species

Cripps¹,

Barge²

2013

Karstenia

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Lactarius is an important ectomycorrhizal genus (Basidiomycota, Russulales) and a subset of species occur in arctic and alpine habitats. These species are well known in Europe, Greenland, Svalbard and Scandinavia; however there is scant information from the Rocky Mountain alpine zone in North America. Here we report five Lactarius species from above 3000 m at latitude 45º N in the northern Rockies and above 3700 m at latitude 36º -38º N in the southern Rockies. Lactarius lanceolatus, L. nanus, L. salicis-reticulatae and L. repraesentaneus are reported with Salix species and L. glyciosmus with Betula glandulosa. All have been recorded from Finland at 68 º -70 º N at much lower elevations (300-1000 m) in the alpine, subarctic and subtemperate zones.

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Phytoedaphic Relationships in Alpine Tundra of North-Central Colorado, U.S.A.

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Facilitation and Competition on Gradients in Alpine Plant Communities

Facilitation and Competition on Gradients in Alpine Plant Communities

Plant distribution in relation to the length of the growing season in a snow-bed in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan

Notes on the genus Lactarius from the Rocky Mountain alpine zone in regard to Finnish arctic-alpine species

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