Dohn, J, Augustine, DJ, Hanan, NP et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Spatial vegetation patterns and neighborhood competition among woody plants in an East African savanna. Ecology, 98 (2). pp. 478-488. ISSN 0012-9658
Abstract
The majority of research on savanna vegetation dynamics has focused on the coexistence of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Interactions among woody plants in savannas are relatively poorly understood. We present data from a 10-year longitudinal study of spatially explicit growth patterns of woody vegetation in an East African savanna following exclusion of large herbivores and in the absence of fire. We examined plant spatial patterns and quantified the degree of competition among woody individuals. Woody plants in this semi-arid savanna exhibit strongly clumped spatial distributions at scales of 1 - 5 m. However, analysis of woody plant growth rates relative to their conspecific and heterospecific neighbors revealed evidence for strong competitive interactions at neighborhood scales of up to 5 m for most woody plant species. Thus, woody plants were aggregated in clumps despite significantly decreased growth rates in close proximity to neighbors, indicating that the spatial distribution of woody plants in this region depends on dispersal and establishment processes rather than on competitive, density-dependent mortality. However, our documentation of suppressive effects of woody plants on neighbors also suggests a potentially important role for tree-tree competition in controlling vegetation structure and indicates that the balanced-competition hypothesis may contribute to well-known patterns in maximum tree cover across rainfall gradients in Africa.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Acacia; aggregation; pair correlation function; patchiness; pattern formation; semi-arid savanna; spatial ecology; woody plant interactions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Dec 2016 14:39 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2017 09:52 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1659 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Ecological Society of America |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ecy.1659 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108558 |