Soil nutrient availability determines the facilitative effects of cushion plants on other plant species at high elevations in the south-eastern Himalayas

Chen, Jianguo; Yang, Yang; Stoecklin, Juerg; Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; Peng, Deli; Li, Zhimin

doi:10.1080/17550874.2013.872206

Cited by 43 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…A similar size–age related interaction has also been reported in a semi-arid environment, where plant diversity in the understory of R. sphaerocarpa and Juniperus communis was found to increase with shrub size/age, probably due to greater heterogeneity under the larger canopy (Pugnaire et al, 1996; Allegrezza et al, 2016). In addition, one previous study of cushions in the same region as ours attributed interspecific differences ( Arenaria polytrichoides vs. Potentilla articulata ) in intensity of facilitation to distinct capacities for improving soil nutrients of two phylogenetically distant species but which shared similar cushion morphology (Chen et al, 2014). It has been suggested that young/small plant individuals can hardly act as effective nurse plants due to their restricted size, which limits their impact on micro-environmental conditions (Callaway, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…In the HHM, the facilitative effect of A. polytrichoides cushions on other plant species was previously mainly attributed to fertility islands produced under their dense canopy (Yang et al, 2010; Chen et al, 2014). In addition, the distinct improvement in moisture and thermal conditions created by cushion species has been clearly reported for different mountain areas (Cavieres et al, 2006, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This site was chosen because it supports a population of cushion species of a variety of sizes, and also because facilitation by A. polytrichoides cushions has already been shown to be frequent and important in natural alpine plant communities of this region (Yang et al, 2010; Chen et al, 2014, 2015). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like most species with a cushion life form, A. polytrichoides cushions retain their dead leaves under the compact structure and these can be seen as litter and a humus trap. The dense canopy structure of A. polytrichoides cushions has been shown to result in soil below with a higher moisture and nutrient content than adjacent open areas and the cushions provide a more favorable microenvironment for many other non-cushion plants (Yang et al, 2010; Chen et al, 2014). At the study site, the relative cover of A. polytrichoides was determined along five 10 m linear transects with a distance between transects of 5 m; it ranged between ca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

et al. 2017

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Arenaria polytrichoides (Caryophyllaceae) is a common cushion plant occurring at high elevations in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, SW China. It frequently has other non-cushion species growing within its canopy, forming a contrast with the surrounding areas because it creates patches of higher diversity and greater biomass. In this study, we examined the relationship between the cushions and associated non-cushion species along a gradient of cushion size. A total of 200 A. polytrichoides individuals were selected to fit four size classes. Field measurements were carried out to assess canopy structure, functional traits relevant to growth and reproduction, and soil quality below cushions along the size gradient. Furthermore, the size effect of cushions on the richness and abundance of species and biomass production was also examined. All the morphological variables examined exhibited a positive correlation with cushion size, as did the nutrients under cushions. Large and compact cushions were associated with higher soil nutrient contents compared with small and loose cushions. As a result of these biogenic environmental changes, there was a stronger facilitation effect performed by large cushions. Data pertaining to functional traits revealed that large cushions benefit from the enhanced resources within their compact structure and exhibit greater fitness and a higher reproductive output than small cushions. Our data indicated that interactions occur between cushion species and other plants depending on the size of the cushions, probably because of the greater heterogeneity of conditions beneath larger cushions. These findings provide a clear demonstration of the generally overlooked importance of the traits of nurse plants, such as size and age, in terms of their facilitative effects.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

et al. 2017

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“…; Chen et al. ). However, in order to understand the context dependence of this facilitative effect of cushions on species diversity in the HHM, a large‐scale sampling to assess the effects of cushion plants on plant diversity is needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cushion plants can have a positive effect on diversity at high elevations in the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains

Chen

Schöb

Zhou

et al. 2015

J Vegetation Science

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Questions: What is the community-level consequence of biotic processes, in particular the importance of facilitation, in determining patterns of diversity in alpine plant communities of the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains? Does facilitation intensity change with environmental severity, and are these changes due to environmental severity or nurse trait effects?Location: Eleven alpine plant communities dominated by cushion plants in the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains, within the mountain system of south-central China.Methods: We determined plant species richness and abundance in habitats created by cushions and cushion-free areas, and assessed the cushion effects on species richness and abundance with rarefaction curves and the relative interaction index, respectively. We examined the relationship between cushion effects on diversity and habitat severity and tested if changes in the net cushion effects along the severity gradient were due to a change in the performance of species without cushions (environmental severity effect) and/or with cushions (nurse trait-mediated effect). Results:The presence of cushion plants increased species richness and abundance in most studied plant communities. The net facilitation effect of cushions increased with increasing habitat severity, an effect that could be attributed mainly to a reduction in species richness in cushion-free areas with increasing severity. However, the changes in magnitude of facilitation of particular cushion species growing in high and low severity habitats could be attributed to both environmental severity and neighbour trait effects. Despite the overall positive effect of cushion plants on plant species richness, not all cushion species contributed to higher species richness. The deviation of individual cushion species from the general pattern of increasing facilitation with increasing severity indicated the species specificity of facilitation depends on the traits of nurse species. Conclusion: The presence of cushion plants generally increased species richnessin alpine plant communities of the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains, with the importance of the cushion effect increasing with habitat severity due to a buffering effect by cushions of the negative effect of habitat severity on species richness observed in cushion-free areas. This indicates the pivotal role of facilitative interactions among plant species in supporting high diversity in these severe environments.

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Alpine community recruitment potential is determined by habitat attributes in the alpine ecosystems of the Himalaya‐Hengduan Mountains, SW China

Chen

Qian

Zhang

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Soil nutrient availability determines the facilitative effects of cushion plants on other plant species at high elevations in the south-eastern Himalayas

Cited by 43 publications

References 37 publications

Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

Size-Mediated Interaction between a Cushion Species and Other Non-cushion Species at High Elevations of the Hengduan Mountains, SW China

Cushion plants can have a positive effect on diversity at high elevations in the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains

Alpine community recruitment potential is determined by habitat attributes in the alpine ecosystems of the Himalaya‐Hengduan Mountains, SW China

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