Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity
The effects of long‐term (11 yr) exclusion of vertebrate herbivores on competition intensity and plant community structure were studied using manipulative field experiments in two arctic‐alpine plant communities with contrasting productivity: an unproductive snowbed and a considerably more productiv...
Published in: | Oikos |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2002
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1034%2Fj.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x |
id |
crwiley:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x 2024-06-02T08:01:36+00:00 Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity Olofsson, Johan Moen, Jon Oksanen, Lauri 2002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1034%2Fj.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Oikos volume 96, issue 2, page 265-272 ISSN 0030-1299 1600-0706 journal-article 2002 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x 2024-05-03T11:13:24Z The effects of long‐term (11 yr) exclusion of vertebrate herbivores on competition intensity and plant community structure were studied using manipulative field experiments in two arctic‐alpine plant communities with contrasting productivity: an unproductive snowbed and a considerably more productive tall herb meadow. In the snowbed, the exclusion of herbivorous mammals resulted in a significant increase in the biomasses of vascular plants and cryptogams, whereas no corresponding response was observed on the tall herb meadow. The intensity of competition, measured with a neighbour removal experiment, did not differ significantly between three of the four habitat×treatment combinations – snowbed exclosures, meadow exclosures and open meadow plots – but was significantly lower on open snowbed plots. Our results thus suggest that the low competition intensity in the unproductive snowbed is caused by herbivorous mammals, which tend to depress plant biomass in relatively unproductive habitats. When herbivorous mammals have been excluded for a sufficiently long time to allow the build‐up of plant biomass even in unproductive habitats, between‐habitat differences in competition intensity disappear. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Tundra Wiley Online Library Arctic Oikos 96 2 265 272 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
The effects of long‐term (11 yr) exclusion of vertebrate herbivores on competition intensity and plant community structure were studied using manipulative field experiments in two arctic‐alpine plant communities with contrasting productivity: an unproductive snowbed and a considerably more productive tall herb meadow. In the snowbed, the exclusion of herbivorous mammals resulted in a significant increase in the biomasses of vascular plants and cryptogams, whereas no corresponding response was observed on the tall herb meadow. The intensity of competition, measured with a neighbour removal experiment, did not differ significantly between three of the four habitat×treatment combinations – snowbed exclosures, meadow exclosures and open meadow plots – but was significantly lower on open snowbed plots. Our results thus suggest that the low competition intensity in the unproductive snowbed is caused by herbivorous mammals, which tend to depress plant biomass in relatively unproductive habitats. When herbivorous mammals have been excluded for a sufficiently long time to allow the build‐up of plant biomass even in unproductive habitats, between‐habitat differences in competition intensity disappear. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Olofsson, Johan Moen, Jon Oksanen, Lauri |
spellingShingle |
Olofsson, Johan Moen, Jon Oksanen, Lauri Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
author_facet |
Olofsson, Johan Moen, Jon Oksanen, Lauri |
author_sort |
Olofsson, Johan |
title |
Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
title_short |
Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
title_full |
Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
title_fullStr |
Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
title_sort |
effects of herbivory on competition intensity in two arctic‐alpine tundra communities with different productivity |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1034%2Fj.1600-0706.2002.960208.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Tundra |
op_source |
Oikos volume 96, issue 2, page 265-272 ISSN 0030-1299 1600-0706 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960208.x |
container_title |
Oikos |
container_volume |
96 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
265 |
op_container_end_page |
272 |
_version_ |
1800746008078974976 |