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Smaller species experience mild adversity under shading in an old-field plant community
  • +3
  • Kelly Balfour,
  • Danielle Greco,
  • Riley Gridzak,
  • Gillian Piggott,
  • Brandon Schamp,
  • Lonnie Aarssen
Kelly Balfour
Queen's University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Danielle Greco
Queen's University
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Riley Gridzak
Queen's University
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Gillian Piggott
Queen's University
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Brandon Schamp
Algoma University
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Lonnie Aarssen
Queens University
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Abstract

Plant competition experiments commonly suggest that larger species have an advantage, especially in light acquisition. However, within crowded natural vegetation, where competition evidently impacts fitness, most resident species are relatively small. It remains unclear, therefore, whether the size-advantage observed in controlled experiments is realized in habitats under intensive competition. We tested for evidence of a size-advantage in competition for light in an old-field plant community composed of herbaceous perennial species. We investigated whether larger species contributed to reduced light penetration (i.e., greater shading), and examined the impact of shade on smaller species by testing whether their abundance and richness were lower in plots with less light penetration. Light penetration in plots ranged from 0.3-72.4%. Plots with greater mean species height had significantly lower light penetration. Plots with lower light penetration had significantly lower small species abundance and richness. However, the impact of shade on small species abundance and richness was relatively small (R2 values between 8% and 15%) and depended on how we defined “small species”. Significant effects were more common when analyses focused on individuals that reached reproduction; focusing on only flowering plants can clarify patterns. Our results confirm that light penetration in herbaceous vegetation can be comparable to levels seen in forests, that plots with taller species cast more shade, and that smaller species are less abundant and diverse in plots where light penetration is low. However, variation in mean plot height explained less than 10% of variation in light penetration, and light penetration explained 5-15% of variation in small species abundance and richness. Coupled with the fact that reproductive small species were present even within the most heavily shaded plots, our results suggest that any advantage in light competition by large species is limited. One explanation is that some small species in these communities are shade tolerant.
09 Sep 2021Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
10 Sep 2021Submission Checks Completed
10 Sep 2021Assigned to Editor
17 Sep 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
13 Feb 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
14 Feb 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
04 Mar 20221st Revision Received
07 Mar 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
07 Mar 2022Submission Checks Completed
07 Mar 2022Assigned to Editor
15 Mar 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
12 Apr 20222nd Revision Received
13 Apr 2022Submission Checks Completed
13 Apr 2022Assigned to Editor
13 Apr 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
14 Apr 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 May 20223rd Revision Received
18 May 2022Submission Checks Completed
18 May 2022Assigned to Editor
18 May 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
19 May 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Jun 2022Published in Ecology and Evolution volume 12 issue 6. 10.1002/ece3.9006