Competitive ability underpins the effect of spatial aggregation on plant performance.

ABSTRACT: Most plant species exhibit spatially clustered distributions. Theory suggests such conspecific aggregation can delay competitive exclusion by sparing weak competitors. However, the extent to which spatial aggregation increases species performance and which species are likely to benefit from it remain largely unknown. In this study, we asked (1) whether spatial aggregation enhances plant performance and (2) whether the effects are biologically predictable. For the second question, we focused on "the competition-relatedness hypothesis" and the "competitive asymmetry hypothesis," which relate the effect of spatial arrangement to niche and competitive ability differences between species, respectively. We performed phylogenetic meta-analyses to investigate whether phylogenetic and ecological di

SUBMITTER: Shinohara N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11983673 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature