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Journal of Plant Ecology Advance Access originally published online on August 11, 2009
Journal of Plant Ecology 2009 2(3):135-141; doi:10.1093/jpe/rtp014
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Botanical Society of China. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Effects of traits, species identity and local environmental conditions on the assessment of interactions: insights from an alpine meadow community

Chengjin Chu1, Youshi Wang2, Qi Li1, Luqiang Zhao1, Zhengwei Ren1, Sa Xiao1, Jianli Yuan1 and Gang Wang1,*

1 MOE Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
2 MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental System, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

* Correspondence address: MOE Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Tel: +86 931 8912849; Fax: +86 931 8912125; E-mail: wgmg36{at}lzu.edu.cn

Aims: The prediction that facilitation is the dominant interaction in physically stressful conditions has been supported by many but not all field studies. In the present paper, we tested the effects of the identity of species, the local environmental conditions and the currencies of performance measurement on such variation.

Methods: Using contrasting two plots, six species, and up to five multiple traits, we comprehensively explored the effects of the above factors on the assessment of plant interactions in an alpine meadow of the Qing-Hai Tibetan Plateau. Additionally, we attempted to figure out the possible mechanisms underlying the responses observed. The data were analysed by both standard ANOVAs and multivariate statistics.

Important findings: Our results demonstrated that the response to the removal of neighbours was both species and trait specific, and the effect of the local environmental conditions was dependent on the species involved. The contrast between plots had crucial influence on the net interactions of Kobresia macrantha, but little effect on Elymus nutans. Regarding the abiotic conditions, neighbours had significant impact on soil temperature, moist and solar radiation. The results contribute to advance our knowledge on the potential underlying factors influencing the assessment of facilitation.

Keywords: positive interactions • species specific • trait specific • neighbour removal • multivariate statistics • PERMANOVA


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