Premium
DISTRIBUTIONAL RANGE SIZE OF WEEDY PLANT SPECIES IS CORRELATED TO GERMINATION PATTERNS
Author(s) -
Brändle Martin,
Stadler Jutta,
Klotz Stefan,
Brandl Roland
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/0012-9658(2003)084[0136:drsowp]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - germination , niche , biology , range (aeronautics) , abundance (ecology) , ecology , ecological niche , species distribution , population , botany , habitat , materials science , composite material , demography , sociology
For plant species adapted to disturbances, the germination niche breadth (the time span within a year during which the species is able to germinate) may be a key in understanding the variability of range sizes across species. Species that are able to germinate throughout the year should be able to use more disturbances and build up large local populations. As population size is correlated to distribution, one would expect a correlation between the temporal germination pattern and distributional range sizes. For a test of this hypotheses, we used germination patterns and local abundance data from 31 weedy plant species from an abandoned field in eastern Germany. In cross‐species and phylogenetically controlled analyses, the germination niche breadth was correlated to range size on the national, as well as the continental scale. However, significant correlations between germination niche breadth and abundance, as well as abundance and range size, appeared only in a phylogenetically controlled analysis. In multiple regression analyses, the germination niche breadth turned out to be the most important predictor of distributional range sizes for our subset of weedy species. These results suggest that, for weedy species, the germination niche breadth influences distributional range size. However, the detailed process behind these relationships remains elusive. Nevertheless, the regeneration niche of plants may be a useful concept for exploring macroecological relationships in plants. Corresponding Editor: E. S. Menges.