Journal
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
Volume 73, Issue 12, Pages 1084-1089Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.06.012
Keywords
Aboveground interactions; Aridity gradient; Belowground interactions; Productivity gradient; Shrub-grass steppes; Species distribution
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Education and Science [CGL2004-00090, CGL2007-63781]
- CSIC-13P
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Abiotic conditions and interactions among plants are important factors determining plant geographical distributions. With the aim of analyzing the distribution of a perennial grass species in a semiarid mountain range, we experimentally tested above- and belowground effects of shrubs on the grass along a gradient of aridity. We measured growth, physiology and reproductive output of Stipa tenacissima tussocks surrounded by intact or manipulated neighbour shrubs. Performance of Stipa improved under mesic conditions, but the net effect of shrubs on Stipa did not change along the gradient. Belowground, we did not find significant effects. suggesting belowground resource partitioning between tussocks and shrubs. Aboveground net effects of shrubs on Stipa were generally positive and independent from abiotic conditions. The improved performance of Stipa at the mesic end of gradient suggests that its absolute physiological optimum lies out of its realized range. Overall, the and end of the geographical distribution of Stipa in this mountain range may be determined by environmental severity. The coincidence of the upper limit of Stipa with the lower tree limit suggests that the more mesic end of Stipa distribution may depend on other factors; most likely competition with trees, which, unlike shrubs, could be excluding Stipa tenacissima from forests. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available