Premium
Neighbour interaction and stability in subalpine meadow communities
Author(s) -
Kikvidze Z.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3236414
Subject(s) - canopy , vegetation (pathology) , montane ecology , ecology , plant community , environmental science , hay , ecological stability , ecological succession , geography , agronomy , biology , ecosystem , medicine , pathology
. The ability of a plant community to maintain favourable conditions within its canopy was examined by means of removing the vegetation around individual plants (radius ca. 1 m) and measuring light and temperature relations and rates of net photosynthesis in both isolated and sward plants. The results suggest that neighbour interactions are important for the stabilization of environmental relations within the canopy, at least in hay meadows as compared to intensively grazed pastures. The canopy may maintain optimal conditions for plant life within a wider variation of environmental factors. At the same time, plants have to adapt to contrasting (sunny vs. cloudy) weather conditions occurring with about equal frequency during the vegetation period in the central Caucasus.