Positive Plant Interactions in Tundra Vegetation and the Importance of Shelter

Carlsson, Bengt; Callaghan, Terry V.

doi:10.2307/2261092

Cited by 204 publications

(155 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In the Patagonian steppe, average wind velocity is 80% lower on the leeward side of shrubs and evaporation rates are less than half of those for plants on the windward side Sala 1986, Aguiar et al 1992). In Swedish Lapland, Carlsson and Callaghan (1991) showed that Carex bigelowii increased in leaf length and culm height when growing within clumps of Empetrum hermaphro- Notes: Shade treatments were pooled because there were no significant effects of other factors. No shade represents the ''control,'' ''wind,'' and ''drift'' treatments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Facilitative mechanisms may also be direct, in which neighbors ameliorate the physical environment for less hardy species (Vetaas 1992, Callaway 1995, Hacker and Bertness 1995, Baumeister 1999, Choler et al 2001. Particular conditions that are ameliorated directly by stress-tolerant benefactors include high temperature and drought (Muller 1953, Muller and Muller 1956, Steenberg and Lowe 1969, Nobel 1984, Everett et al 1986), low temperature (Carlsson and Callaghan 1991, Blundon et al 1993, Choler 2001, high salinity (Bertness 1991 Fong et al 1996), low soil oxygen (Schat and Beckhoven 1991, Bertness and Shumway 1993, Callaway and King 1996, and low nutrients (Connell and Slatyer 1977, Walker and Chapin 1986, Wood and del Moral 1987, Blundon et al 1993. Despite a wealth of detailed research on the mechanisms governing facilitation, few studies have attempted to identify the relative importance of different mechanisms operating simultaneously in the same ecological system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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FACILITATION BYPINUS FLEXILISDURING SUCCESSION: A HIERARCHY OF MECHANISMS BENEFITS OTHER PLANT SPECIES

Baumeister

Callaway

2006

Ecology

121

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Abstract. Studies of facilitation have primarily been limited to single mechanisms, species, or environments. We examined interacting mechanisms governing the facilitative effects of Pinus flexilis on two later successional understory species, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Ribes cereum, in different microhabitats and seasons at the ecotone between the Rocky Mountain forests and Great Plains grasslands in Montana, USA. In field surveys, 69% of Pseudotsuga and 91% of Ribes were located beneath P. flexilis even though P. flexilis subcrowns accounted for a small proportion of available habitat. For three years, we monitored the survival of Pseudotsuga and Ribes seedlings experimentally planted beneath P. flexilis and in the open at a windward and a leeward site. Survival of both species was highest beneath P. flexilis at a site topographically protected from strong unidirectional winds (38% for Pseudotsuga and 63% for Ribes), and lowest at a windward site and in the open where tree crowns did not provide shelter from winds (2% and 6%, respectively). These results suggest that wind amelioration contributed to the facilitative effect of P. flexilis. However, even at the leeward site, where wind speed was low, survival of Pseudotsuga and Ribes was higher beneath P. flexilis, suggesting the importance of shade. To explore the relative importance of different mechanisms, we designed an experiment with six treatments: ''shade,'' ''shade þ wind,'' ''shade þ drift,'' ''wind,'' ''drift,'' and a ''control.'' After two years, we found shade to be of overwhelming importance for the survival of Pseudotsuga and Ribes. Without shade, no other treatments were significant, but once shade was provided, wind amelioration and snow pack accumulation increased survival of Pseudotsuga, suggesting that these different facilitative mechanisms functioned in a nested hierarchical manner: some mechanisms were important only when others were already functioning. Many studies have demonstrated multiple interacting mechanisms in the way that plants interact, but to our knowledge hierarchical interactive processes have not been previously documented. If the effects of positive or competitive mechanisms are often hierarchical, then studies of isolated mechanisms may not accurately assess their importance in nature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

FACILITATION BYPINUS FLEXILISDURING SUCCESSION: A HIERARCHY OF MECHANISMS BENEFITS OTHER PLANT SPECIES

Baumeister

Callaway

2006

Ecology

121

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“…The old vegetation data were recorded in 1986. Nine of the plots were resampled in 2009 following the procedure described by Carlsson and Callaghan (1991). Thus the presence/absence data for each vascular plant species were noted in 144 0.02 9 0.02 m quadrats in each of the nine plots.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes Versus Homeostasis in Alpine and Sub-Alpine Vegetation Over Three Decades in the Sub-Arctic

Hedenås

Carlsson

Emanuelsson³

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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Plant species distributions are expected to shift and diversity is expected to decline as a result of global climate change, particularly in the Arctic where climate warming is amplified. We have recorded the changes in richness and abundance of vascular plants at Abisko, subArctic Sweden, by re-sampling five studies consisting of seven datasets; one in the mountain birch forest and six at open sites. The oldest study was initiated in 1977-1979 and the latest in 1992. Total species number increased at all sites except for the birch forest site where richness decreased. We found no general pattern in how composition of vascular plants has changed over time. Three species, Calamagrostis lapponica, Carex vaginata and Salix reticulata, showed an overall increase in cover/frequency, while two Equisetum taxa decreased. Instead, we showed that the magnitude and direction of changes in species richness and composition differ among sites.

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“…Recent work has emphasized the role of facilitation in the dynamics of plant communities (Bertness & Callaway 1994), particularly in arid environments and deserts (McAuliffe 1988;Franco & Nobel 1989;Silvertown and Wilson 1994;, Arctic regions (Carlsson & Callaghan 1991;Chapin et al 1994) and salt marshes (Bertness & Shumway 1993), suggesting that positive interactions among plants could be widespread (Callaway 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa on its understorey in a semiarid environment

et al. 1997

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Summary 1.A dense understorey of annual and perennial herbs grow under the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa shrubs in semiarid environments of south-east Spain, influencing plant productivity and diversity at a regional scale. We investigated the facilitation by the shrub on its understorey in field and laboratory experiments with Barley designed to explore the mechanisms of interaction between both vegetation layers and their spatial variation. 2.There was a gradient of spatial heterogeneity in soil chemical fertility under the shrub canopy, with organic matter and soil nitrogen contents higher at the centre than at the edge of the canopy. Dry mass production of Barley was also higher in soils from intermediate positions, and lower in soils from both the centre and edge of the canopy. 3. In the field, pots sown with Barley placed near the centre, at an intermediate position and at the edge of the canopy of Retama shrubs showed significant differences in productivity, suggesting a mulching effect of the canopy that also affects seedling establishment. 4. Micro-climatic measurements showed significant differences in total radiation reaching the soil, mean air and soil temperatures and maximum temperature among different positions in the understorey, increasing radially from the centre to the edge of the canopy. 5. These results and field observations suggest that the optimal association of climatic factors under the canopy would combine with a high soil fertility mediated by litter decomposition to increase biomass production mid-way between the centre and the edge of the canopy. Overstorey and understorey thus interact to increase nutrient retention locally, which benefits both the shrub and the herb layer.

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Positive Plant Interactions in Tundra Vegetation and the Importance of Shelter

Cited by 204 publications

References 28 publications

FACILITATION BYPINUS FLEXILISDURING SUCCESSION: A HIERARCHY OF MECHANISMS BENEFITS OTHER PLANT SPECIES

FACILITATION BYPINUS FLEXILISDURING SUCCESSION: A HIERARCHY OF MECHANISMS BENEFITS OTHER PLANT SPECIES

Changes Versus Homeostasis in Alpine and Sub-Alpine Vegetation Over Three Decades in the Sub-Arctic

Effect of the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa on its understorey in a semiarid environment

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