Fine-scale variation in the effect of the cushion plant Azorella selago on vascular plants, mosses, hepatics and lichens in the sub-Antarctic

• Published in: Journal of Vegetation Science
• Main Authors: Buyens, Isabelle Patricia Rita, Raath-Krüger, Morgan Jade, Haddad, William A., Le Roux, Peter Christiaan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: Cushion plant; Facilitation; Fine-scale variation; Plant–lichen communities; Plant–lichen interactions; Plant–plant interactions; Proximal variables; Stress gradient; Sub-Antarctic; SDG-15: Life on land; Antarc*; Antarctic; Marion Island
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/97717; https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13200

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Accompanying data and R scripts can be accessed at https://catal ogue.saeon.ac.za/recor ds/10.15493/ SAPRI.08172023. SUPPORTING INFORMATION : APPENDIX S1. Pictures of the study site and species on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. APPENDIX S2. Variation of abiotic variables with elevation and aspect. APPENDIX S3. Scoria volumetric water content below Azorella selago, and mean (±SE) scoria moisture beneath A. selago and adjacent sites. APPENDIX S4. Vascular plant, hepatic, lichen and moss species occurrences on Azorella selago and adjacent sites. APPENDIX S5. The correlation between the competitive importance index and the relative interaction intensity index for species richness and cover of vascular plants, hepatics, mosses and lichens. APPENDIX S6. Competitive importance index from distal models for the richness and the cover of vascular plants, hepatics, mosses and lichens. APPENDIX S7. Competitive importance index from proximal models for the richness and cover of vascular plants, hepatics, mosses and lichens. APPENDIX S8. Mean (±SE) competitive importance index for the richness and cover of vascular plant, hepatic, moss and lichen species. APPENDIX S9. Changes in the competitive importance index for species richness (mean ± SE) with elevation (m a.s.l.) for vascular plants, hepatic lichens and mosses. APPENDIX S10. Changes in the competitive importance index for species cover (mean ± SE) with elevation (m a.s.l.) for vascular plants, hepatics, lichens and mosses. QUESTION : Plant–plant interactions can strongly influence community structure and composition. The outcome of these interactions can vary considerably across space and is often linked to environmental conditions, with, for example, a higher prevalence of facilitative interactions typically being observed under greater environmental severity. To date, most studies have documented shifts from competitive to facilitative (or neutral) plant–plant and plant–lichen interactions along gradients of increasing environmental ...