Plant Functional Groups in Alpine Fellfield Habitats of the White Mountains, California

Rundel, Philip W.; Gibson, Arthur C.

doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2005)037[0358:pfgiaf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…They concluded that in situations where the quantity of the most limiting resource is low enough that the benefits of facilitation cannot overcome the cost of resource uptake, a shift from facilitation to competition in situations of high abiotic stress could occur (Michalet, Le Bagousse Pinguet, Maalouf, & Lortie, ). The plant community in the White Mountains is dominated by stress‐tolerant plants (Rundel, Gibson, & Sharifi, ), and so the findings of Maestre and Cortina ()) are informative to our results. At the high‐elevation site, where moisture availability was highest and temperatures lowest, total non‐sagebrush cover was low in the presence of sagebrush compared to plots where no sagebrush was present (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Plant community response to Artemisia rothrockii (sagebrush) encroachment and removal along an arid elevational gradient

Kopp

Cleland

2018

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Shrub expansion into alpine ecosystems worldwide raises important questions regarding the influence of shrub encroachment on alpine species diversity. The stress gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts interactions will be competitive when resources are plentiful and the environment is benign, but that facilitative interactions will dominate when conditions are stressful. We asked how Artemisia rothrockii (sagebrush) encroachment in an arid mountain range is affecting alpine plant species there and how the plant community responds to the experimental removal of sagebrush at three sites along an elevational gradient. Location The White Mountains, California, USA (37°30′N, 118°10′W). Methods A shrub removal experiment was established at three elevations (2,900, 3,100 and 3,750 m) to evaluate how sagebrush interacts with alpine and sub‐alpine plant communities. Results The study sites experienced a strong drought over the 4 yrs of the experiment and plant cover declined overall. However, in the sagebrush removal treatment, cover of co‐occurring species increased at both the high‐elevation and low‐elevation sites, with no differences observed at the mid‐elevation site. Conclusions We observed the greatest inhibitory effects of sagebrush at high and low elevations, where plants experience the largest temperature and moisture stress, respectively, and no evidence of facilitation anywhere along the elevational gradient. These results demonstrate that while sagebrush has important influences on herbaceous species composition in the White Mountains, they are inconsistent with the classic predictions of the SGH.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Plant community response to Artemisia rothrockii (sagebrush) encroachment and removal along an arid elevational gradient

Kopp

Cleland

2018

J Vegetation Science

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“…Empirical data for functional group classifications capturing resource acquisition patterns are mixed (Rundel et al 2005, Wright et al 2006, Davies et al 2007, Drenovsky and James 2010), and may have affected our results – if the groups defined in the original studies were not actually functional. Grouping species into functional groups assumes within‐group equivalence (Hubbell 2005), but competitive hierarchies within groups have also been found (Turnbull et al 2004, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirical data for functional group classifications capturing resource acquisition patterns are mixed. Some studies have found the conventional grass, forb, legume classification system is a poor predictor of functional attributes (Rundel et al 2005, Wright et al 2006, Drenovsky and James 2010). While this may be a limitation to experimental approaches; to date this is the most common experimental test of limiting similarity, and hence the utility of this approach is worth addressing.…”

Section: Studies Examined In Our Meta‐analyses Of Functionally Similamentioning

confidence: 99%

Can limiting similarity increase invasion resistance? A meta‐analysis of experimental studies

Price

Pärtel

2012

Oikos

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Synthesis We used meta‐analyses to examine experimental evidence that functional similarity between invaders and resident communities reduces invasion. We synthesized evidence from studies that experimentally added seed to resident communities in which the functional group composition had been manipulated. We found communities containing functionally similar resident species reduced invasion of forb but not grass invaders. However, experimental design dramatically influenced the results – with evidence for limiting similarity only found in artificially assembled communities, and not when studies used functional group removal from more ‘natural communities’. We suggest that functional group similarity plays a limited role in biotic resistance in established communities. The principle of limiting similarity suggests that species must be functionally different to coexist; based on the assumption that inter‐specific competition should be greatest between functionally similar species. There has been controversy over the generality of this assembly rule for plant communities with some studies finding evidence for limiting similarity and others not. One approach to testing this is to examine the ‘invasion’ success of species into communities in which the functional group composition has been manipulated. Using a meta‐analysis approach, we examined the generality of limiting similarity for plant communities based on published experimental studies. We asked – is establishment of an invading species less successful if it belongs to a functional group that is already present in the community compared to a community in which that functional group is absent? We explored separately colonisation (i.e. germination, establishment or seedling survival) and performance (i.e. biomass, cover or growth) of different functional groups (forbs and grasses) and experimental designs (removal experiments of more or less natural communities and synthetic‐assemblage experiments). We found that communities containing functionally similar resident species did reduce invader colonisation and performance of forb invaders, but did not reduce colonisation or performance of grass invaders. Evidence in support of limiting similarity was only detected in synthetic‐assemblage experiments and not when studies used functional group removal from ‘natural’ communities. Functional similarity is an important aspect of biotic resistance for forb invaders, but was only found in artificial communities. This has implications for restoration ecology especially when communities are built de novo. However, we suggest that limiting similarity plays a limited role in biotic resistance, because no evidence was detected in established communities.

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“…The differences in how E. ovalifolium and K. macrantha responded to the experimental treatments reflect the large differences in their life history characteristics. E. ovalifolium is a slow growing, long lived, cushion plant while, K. macrantha is a/perennial bunchgrass with an average lifespan between 7 and 10 years (Dixon, 2000;Rundel et al, 2005;Anderson, 2006). Koeleria is solely wind pollinated, while Eriogonum is wind pollinated, but also largely insect and bird pollinated, and produces many fewer seeds per inflorescence.…”

Section: Demographic Rates and Lambdasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Facilitation Influence the Demography of Herbaceous Alpine Species in Response to Woody Plant Range Expansion

2019

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Plant species migrations, or range shifts, in response to changing climate are one of many interacting factors influencing plant population and community dynamics in an era of global change. Range shifts may cause novel assemblages of competing species because species may respond to changing climate at different rates. Range-expanding species may directly influence resident species through resource competition or indirectly by modifying the local environment both aboveground and belowground. Further, range-expanding plant species can create novel plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) by altering soil microbial community structure and function and the interactions of resident plant species with microbial symbionts. These changes can have important implications for resident plant population dynamics and their ability to coexist with novel competitors. Here we test the impacts of competitive interactions and plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) of a range-expanding sagebrush species (Artemisia rothrockii) on the demography and population growth rates of two resident alpine plant species (Koeleria macrantha and Eriogonum ovalifolium). We use an experimental, multi-year field approach combined with integral projection modeling to determine how PSFs and competition influence species coexistence in both the historic and range expansion zone of A. rothrockii. We find that sagebrush has an overall net negative effect on herbaceous plant demography, primarily due to negative PSFs for plants growing in sagebrush-conditioned soil. However, these negative soil effects are partially buffered via facilitation effects for herbs growing under or nearby sagebrush canopies. In general, population growth rates were more sensitive to survival than other demographic rates, furthermore this sensitivity to survival was higher for herbaceous species in sagebrush soils. Identifying the major drivers of plant population dynamics and species interactions remains an important and unresolved question in ecology. PSFs are a central mechanism influencing plant species interactions, yet the majority of PSF research has made little direct connection between plant population dynamics and PSFs in situ. We believe that utilizing a field-based approach, focusing on multiple components of plant demography, is an important next step in understanding the role of PSFs and species interactions in a changing world.

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Plant Functional Groups in Alpine Fellfield Habitats of the White Mountains, California

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Plant community response to Artemisia rothrockii (sagebrush) encroachment and removal along an arid elevational gradient

Plant community response to Artemisia rothrockii (sagebrush) encroachment and removal along an arid elevational gradient

Can limiting similarity increase invasion resistance? A meta‐analysis of experimental studies

Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Facilitation Influence the Demography of Herbaceous Alpine Species in Response to Woody Plant Range Expansion

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