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AN ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE ABILITY IN THREE PERENNIAL GRASSES
Author(s) -
MAHMOUD A.,
GRIME J. P.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1976.tb01532.x
Subject(s) - perennial plant , biology , competition (biology) , festuca rubra , festuca , agronomy , botany , poaceae , ecology
SUMMARY Competitive interactions between three perennial grasses of contrasted ecology were investigated using an experimental design which permitted measurement of the effects of paired species upon each other. Under productive conditions, each pairing resulted in the total elimination of one species and the order of competitive ability was Arrhenatherum elatius > Agrostis tenuis > Festuca ovina. Under conditions of severe nitrogen stress, the impact of competition upon yield was reduced but the order of competitive ability was unaffected. The results suggest (1) that competitive abilities above and below ground are interdependent and covariable and (2) that the ability to compete for mineral nutrients may be of relatively minor importance in the adaptive physiology of species colonizing very infertile soils.