Species-specific responses to community density in an unproductive perennial plant community.

ABSTRACT: Most studies of density dependent regulation in plants consider a single target species, but regulation may also occur at the level of the entire community. Knowing whether a community is at carrying capacity is essential for understanding its behaviour because low density plant communities may behave quite differently than their high density counterparts. Also, because the intensity of density dependence may differ considerably between species and physical environments, generalizations about its effects on community structure requires comparisons under a range of conditions. We tested if: (1) density dependent regulation occurs at the level of an entire plant community as well as within individual species; (2) the intensity (effect of increasing community density on mean plant mass) and i

SUBMITTER: Treberg MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4106790 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature