Trade-off between competition and facilitation defines gap colonization in mountains.

ABSTRACT: Recent experimental observations show that gap colonization in small-stature (e.g. grassland and dwarf shrubs) vegetation strongly depends on the abiotic conditions within them. At the same time, within-gap variation in biotic interactions such as competition and facilitation, caused by distance to the gap edge, would affect colonizer performance, but a theoretical framework to explore such patterns is missing. Here, we model how competition, facilitation and environmental conditions together determine the small-scale patterns of gap colonization along a cold gradient in mountains, by simulating colonizer survival in gaps of various sizes. Our model adds another dimension to the known effects of biotic interactions along a stress gradient by focussing on the trade-off between competition a

SUBMITTER: Lembrechts JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4683995 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature