Data from: Fungal effects on plant-plant interactions contribute to grassland plant abundances: evidence from the field ...

• Main Authors: Bennett, Jonathan A., Cahill, James F.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2016
• Subjects: Monarda fistulosa; Penstemon gracilis; Symphyotrichum laeve; Linum lewisii; Bouteloua gracilis; Drymocallis arguta; Hedysarum alpinum; belowground interactions; Bromus inermis; Campanula rotundifolia; Elymus trachycaulus; Artemisia ludoviciana; Nasella viridula; Heterotheca villosa; Anthropocene; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Gaillardia aristata; Plant-soil feedbacks; Solidago missouriensis; Poa pratensis; dominance; Geum triflorum; Zizia aptera; rarity; Cahill
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f84d3; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.f84d3

1. Plant-fungal interactions can have strong effects on plant abundances, both through direct effects on plant performance and indirect effects on competition and facilitation. Most evidence linking fungi to plant abundances derives from direct fungal effects on initial growth, with little evidence linking fungal effects on plant-plant interactions in intact communities to plant abundances for any plant life history stage. 2. We transplanted 4320 individuals belonging to 18 plant species into plots where we removed neighbouring vegetation and suppressed fungi using fungicide in a factorial design. We monitored plant survival and growth for three years, using this data to test whether fungi had net effects on how plant-plant interactions affected different plant life history components (initial survival/growth, adult survival/growth). We then tested whether these indirect fungal effects or direct fungal effects on plant performance best explained plant commonness (frequency of occurrence) and local density ... : Bennett and Cahill Multi-year competition data with and without fungicideThis file contains data on growth and survival for 18 species in a factorial experiment that removed neighbouring plants and applied fungicide in a factorial combination. These treatments and plant measurements were taken from years one and three of the experiment.Bennett and Cahill Multiyear competition data with and without fungicide.xlsx ...