当前位置： SCI文献检索 > OECOLOGIA期刊下所有文献 > The role of drought- and disturbance-mediated competition in shaping community responses to varied environments.

The role of drought- and disturbance-mediated competition in shaping community responses to varied environments.

Abstract：

:By altering the strength of intra- and interspecific competition, droughts may reshape plant communities. Furthermore, species may respond differently to drought when other influences, such as herbivory, are considered. To explore this relationship, we conducted a greenhouse experiment measuring responses to inter- and intraspecific competition for two grasses, Schedonorus arundinaceus and Paspalum dilatatum, while varying water availability and simulating herbivory via clipping. We then parameterized population growth models to examine the long-term outcome of competition under these conditions. Under drought, S. arundinaceus was less water stressed than P. dilatatum, which exhibited severe water stress; clipping alleviated this stress, increasing the competitive ability of P. dilatatum relative to S. arundinaceus. Although P. dilatatum competed weakly under drought, clipping reduced water stress in P. dilatatum, thereby enhancing its ability to compete with S. arundinaceus under drought. Supporting these observations, population growth models predicted that P. dilatatum would exclude S. arundinaceus when clipped under drought, while S. arundinaceus would exclude P. dilatatum when unclipped under drought. When the modeled environment varied temporally, environmental variation promoted niche differences that, though insufficient to maintain stable coexistence, prevented unconditional competitive exclusion by promoting priority effects. Our results suggest that it is important to consider how species respond not just to stable, but also to variable, environments. When species differ in their responses to drought, competition, and simulated herbivory, stable environments may promote competitive exclusion, while fluctuating environments may promote coexistence. These interactions are critical to understanding how species will respond to global change.

journal_name

Oecologia

journal_title

Oecologia

authors

Napier JD,Mordecai EA,Heckman RW

doi

10.1007/s00442-016-3582-9

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2016-06-01 00:00:00

pages

621-32

issue

eissn

0029-8549

issn

1432-1939

pii

10.1007/s00442-016-3582-9

journal_volume

181

pub_type

杂志文章

在线工具

The role of drought- and disturbance-mediated competition in shaping community responses to varied environments.