Disentangling the effects of species interactions and environmental factors on the spatial pattern and coexistence of two congeneric Pinus species in a transitional climatic zone.

ABSTRACT: Congeneric species are critical for understanding the underlying ecological mechanisms of biodiversity maintenance. Ecological mechanisms such as conspecific negative density dependence, species differences in life-history stages related to habitat preference, and limiting similarity are known to influence plant fitness, thereby influencing species coexistence and biodiversity. However, our understanding of these phenomena as they apply to coexistence among coniferous species is limited. We studied two congeneric Pinus species, Pinus armandii (PA) and Pinus tabulaeformis (PT), both of which are common pioneer species typically succeeded by oaks (Quercus), in a 25-ha warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest. Here, we addressed the following questions: (1) How

SUBMITTER: Yang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9465400 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature