Relationship between seed size and plant abundance in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

• Autorzy: Liu B. , Luo Y.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Theoretical and field studies on seed size and plant abundance relationship have been conducted in various communities. However, inconsistent patterns have emerged from these studies, and still little is known about alpine meadows. Here we identified four models and their predictions: the seed size/number trade-off model (SSNTM), the succession model (SM), the spatial competition model (SCM), and the triangle model (TM), in order to assess the relationship between seed size and abundance in alpine meadows, and to elucidate underlying mechanisms. The study site was situated on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau at 3500 m above sea level. From 1999 through 2001, two indices of plant abundance (aboveground biomass and density) were simultaneously measured in 45 quadrates (0.25 m[^2]). Data for 101 plant species (mostly Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, Ranunculaceae and forbs) showed that seed size is like log normal distributed, and it slightly skewed in smaller-sized seeds. The SSNTM, the TM, the SM and the SCM models were not supported in this alpine meadow, and the relationship between seed size and abundance was always positive (although in some samples, the relationship was not significant). The positive correlation between seed size and abundance observed for some grassland communities was also demonstrated in the alpine meadow. It suggests that seed size depends on the plant growth form, but the biomass-density relationship is inconsistent with previous studies. This suggests that the measure of abundance used in these studies is not the only reason for inconsistency of seed size.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

above-ground biomass; abundance; alpine meadow; density; Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; seed size

PL

biomasa nadziemna; gęstość; nasiona; obfitość; połonina; Wyżyna Tybetańska

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2009
• Tom: Vol. 57, nr 3
• Strony: 573--579
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 39 poz.,

Twórcy

autor

Liu B.

autor

Luo Y.

• Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Ecology at Lanzhou University, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou 730000, China,

Bibliografia

• 1. Billings W.D., Mooney H.A. 1968 - The ecology of arctic and alpine plants - Biol. Rev. 43: 481-529.
• 2. Bondeau A., Kicklighter D.W., Kaduk J. 1999 - Comparing global models of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP): importance of vegetation structure on seasonal NPP estimates - Glob. Change Biology, 5: 35-45.
• 3. Bruum H.H. 2001 - On the seed mass-regional abundance relationship: the Eriksson & Jakonbsson (1998) model does not apply to Danish grasslands - J. Ecol. 89: 300-303.
• 4. Bu H., Ch X., Xu X., Du G. 2007 - Seed mass and germination in an alpine meadow on the Tsinghai-Tibet plateau - Plant Ecol. 191: 127-149.
• 5. Callaway R.M., Brooker R.W., Choler P. 2002 - Positive interactions among alpine plants increase with stress - Nature, 417: 844-848.
• 6. Chiarucci A., Wilson J.B., Anderson B.J., De Mominicis V. 1999 - Cover versus biomass as an estimate of species abundances: does it make a difference to the conclusions? - J. Veg. Sci. 10: 35-42.
• 7. Choler P., Michalet R., Callaway R.M. 2001 - Facilitation and competition on gradients in alpine plant communities - Ecology, 82: 3295-3308.
• 8. Coomes D.A., Grubb P.J. 2003 - Colonization, tolerance, competition and seed-size variation within functional groups - Trends Ecol. Evol. 18: 283-291.
• 9. Coomes D.A., Rees M., Grubb P.J. 2002 - Are differences in seed mass among species important in structuring plant communities? Evidence from analyses of spatial and temporal variation in dune-annual populations - Oikos, 96: 421-432.
• 10. Eriksson O., Jakobsson A. 1998 - Abundance, distribution and life histories of grassland plants: a comparative study of 81 species - J. Ecol. 86: 922-933.
• 11. Eriksson O. 2005 - Game theory provides no explanation for seed size variation in grasslands - Oecologia, 144: 98-105.
• 12. Fenner M., Thompson K. 2005 - The ecology of seeds - Cambridge University Press, London, pp. 47-97.
• 13. Forbis T.A. 2003 - Seedling demography in an alpine ecosystem - Am. J. Bot. 90: 1197-1206.
• 14. Greene D.F., Johnson E.A. 1993 - Seed mass and dispersal capacity in wind-dispersed diasporas - Oikos, 67: 69-74.
• 15. Guo Q., Rundel P.W., Goodall D.W. 1999 - Structure of desert seed banks: comparisons across four North American desert sites - J. Arid Environ. 42: 1-14.
• 16. Guo Q., Brown J.H., Valone T.J. 2000 - Constraints of seed size on plant distribution and abundance - Ecology, 81: 2149-2155.
• 17. Guo Q. 2003 - Plant abundance: the measurement and relationship with seed size - Oikos, 101:639-642.
• 18. Khurana E., Sagar R., Singh J.S. 2006 - Seed size: a key trait determining species disturibution and diversity of dry tropical forest in northern India - Acta Oecol. 29: 195-204.
• 19. Kudo G. 1991 - Relationship between Flowering Time and Fruit Set of the Entomophilous Alpine Shrub, Rhododendron aureum (Ericaceae), Inhabiting Snow Patches - Am. J. Bot. 80: 1300-1304.
• 20. Leishman M.R., Westoby M., Jurado E. 1995 - Correlates of seed size variation: a comparison among five temperature floras - J. Ecol. 83: 517-530.
• 21. Leishman M.R. 2001 - Does the seed size/number trade-off model determine plant community structure? An assessment of the model mechanisms and their generality - Oikos, 93: 294-302.
• 22. Leishman M., Murray B.R. 2001 - The relationship between seed size and abundance in plant communities: model predictions and observed patterns - Oikos, 92: 151-161.
• 23. Levine J.M., Rees M. 2002 - Coexistence and relative abundance in annual plant assemblages: the roles of competition and colonization - Am. Nat. 160: 452-467.
• 24. Mitchley J., Grubb P.J. 1986 - Control of relative abundance of perennials in chalk grassland in southern England -J. Ecol. 74: 1139-1166.
• 25. Moles A.T., Ackerly D.D., Tweddle J.C. 2007 - Global patterns in seed size - Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 16: 109-116.
• 26. Moles A.T., Falster D.S., Leishman M.R. 2004 - Small-seeded species produce more seeds per square metre of canopy per year, but not per individual per lifetime - J. Ecol. 92: 384-396.
• 27. Murray B.R., Kelaher B.P., Hose G.C. 2005 - A meta-analysis of the interspecific relationship between seed size and plant abundance within local communities - Oikos, 110: 191-197.
• 28. Murray B.R., Leishman M. 2003 - On the relationship between seed mass and species abundance in plant communities - Oikos, 101: 643-645.
• 29. Pluess A.R., Schütz W., Stöcklin J. 2005 - Seed weight increase with altitude in Swiss Alps between related species but not among populations of individual species - Oecologia, 144: 55-61.
• 30. Rabinowitz D. 1978 - Abundance and diaspore weight in rare and common praire grasses - Oecologia, 37: 213-219.
• 31. Rees M., Condit R., Crawley M., Pacala S., Tilman D. 2001 - Long-term studies of vegetation dynamics - Science, 293: 650-655.
• 32. Rees M. 1995 - Community structure in sand dune annuals: is seed weight a key quantity? - J. Ecol. 83: 857-886.
• 33. Röttgermann M., Steinlein T., Beyschlag W. 2000 - Linear relationship between aboveground biomass and plant cover in low open herbaceous vegetaion - J. Veg. Sci. 11: 145-148.
• 34. Shipley B., Dion J. 1992 - The allometry of seed production in herbaceous angiosperms - Am. Nat. 139: 467-483.
• 35. Tilman D. 1994 - Competition and biodiversity in spatially structures habitats - Ecology, 75: 2-16.
• 36. Wang Y., Chu C., Maestre F.T., Wang G.2008 - On the relevance of facilitation in alpine meadow communities: An experimental assessment with multiple species differing in their ecological optimum - Acta Oecol. 33: 108-113.
• 37. Weiher E., van der Werf A.,Thompson K. 1999 - Challenging Theophrastus: a common core list of plant traits for functional ecology - J. Veg. Sci. 10: 609-620.
• 38. Westoby M., Falster D.S., Moles A.T. 2002 - Plant ecological strategies: some leading dimensions of variation between species - Annu Rev. Ecol. Syst. 33: 125-159.
• 39. Zhang S.T., Du G.Z., Chen J.K. 2004 - Seed mass in relation to phylogeny, growth form and longevity in a subalpine meadow on teh east of the Tibetan Plateau - Folia Geobotanica, 39: 129-142.