Plant-plant interactions, environmental gradients and plant diversity: a global synthesis of community-level studies.

ABSTRACT: Previous syntheses on the effects of environmental conditions on the outcome of plant-plant interactions summarize results from pairwise studies. However, the upscaling to the community-level of such studies is problematic because of the existence of multiple species assemblages and species-specific responses to both the environmental conditions and the presence of neighbors. We conducted the first global synthesis of community-level studies from harsh environments, which included data from 71 alpine and 137 dryland communities. Here we: i) test how important are facilitative interactions as a driver of community structure, ii) evaluate whether the frequency of positive plant-plant interactions across differing environmental conditions and habitats is predictable, and iii) assess whether t

SUBMITTER: Soliveres S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4407974 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature