Community divergence and convergence along experimental gradients of stress and disturbance

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2018 papers

Abstract

We created 24 mesocosms containing mixtures of herbaceous species arranged along experimentally maintained gradients of stress (external abiotic constraints limiting biomass production) and disturbance (events causing partial or total live biomass destruction) in order to determine the degree to which community assembly is deterministic or historically contingent during succession. In this 7-yr experiment, we found taxonomic divergence and functional convergence during the last 3 yr. Although communities became more functionally dissimilar as the difference in the level of stress increased, they were equally taxonomically different irrespective of the amount of difference between them in terms of stress and disturbance. In addition, comparing communities experiencing the same conditions, taxonomic community structure was more dissimilar as the levels of stress and disturbance decreased. Therefore, community assembly was largely deterministic from a functional perspective but more historically contingent from a taxonomic perspective, and the relative importance of taxonomic historical contingency decreased as the levels of stress and disturbance frequency increased.

Related Papers

• → The list of species registered in taiga meadow community during succession under enhanced radioactive background(2018)1 cited
• Analysis on Interspecific Relation of Dominant Species of Plant Communities During Succession on Abandoned Farmlands in Guancei Mountain,Shanxi(2010)
• Application of Fuzzy Clustering Methodology in the Plant Community Succession(2005)
• The Comprehensive Application of Fuzzy Aggregation Analysis and Ordination in the Plant Community Succession(2005)
• → Diversity and Succession of Perennial Trees in the Rehabilitation Areas of a Limestone Mine, Saraburi Province, Thailand(2023)