Effect and response traits in severe environments in the context of positive plant–plant interactions. A commentary on: ‘Interspecific interactions alter plant functional strategies in a revegetated shrub-dominated community in the Mu Us Desert’
Language
EN
Article de revue
This item was published in
Annals of Botany. 2022-08-01, vol. 130, n° 2, p. 149–159
English Abstract
Studies of plant functional traits have considerably increased our understanding of the mechanisms driving plant–plant interactions and community assembly. In benign environments with dominant negative interactions, ...Read more >
Studies of plant functional traits have considerably increased our understanding of the mechanisms driving plant–plant interactions and community assembly. In benign environments with dominant negative interactions, competitive outcomes are driven mainly by the advantage associated with particular trait values, and trait dissimilarity between interacting species appears necessary for stabilizing niche differences and species coexistence (Kraft et al., 2015). In severe environments, with positive plant–plant interactions (i.e. facilitation) being the main force driving species coexistence, species are more prone to benefit from facilitation by nurse plants when they are functionally dissimilar from their nurses (Navarro-Cano et al., 2019). In the most severe environments, with intense abiotic filters, only highly stress-tolerant species with strong functional similarity remain in the communities, which often leads to a collapse of positive interactions (Liancourt et al., 2017). Thus, the degree of functional similarity is a critical driver of plant–plant interactions in severe environments.Read less <
English Keywords
Response traits
coexistence
severe environments