Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Facilitation of plant species richness and endangered species by a tussock grass in a moist tall grassland revealed using hierarchical Bayesian analysis

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

    We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

    Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Abstract

Using hierarchical Bayesian analysis, we tested the hypothesis that a perennial tussock grass, Ischaemum aristatum var. glaucum, facilitates the species diversity of vegetation and the regeneration of individual native vascular plants in Ukishima Marsh, a moist tall grassland of eastern Japan. We analyzed microscale distribution patterns of sympatric plant species in response to ground height. Both the species richness of the whole plant assemblage and the occurrence of many native vascular plants, including two endangered species, were positively correlated with ground elevation, which was directly mediated by I. aristatum var. glaucum tussocks and/or the occurrence of mosses on tussocks. Susceptibility to late spring inundation of microsites on the tussocks was significantly lower than that on bare ground. These results suggest that the facilitation by I. aristatum var. glaucum contributes to maintaining the high species richness of the marsh. Consideration of the facilitation among native vascular plants is necessary for establishing sound conservation plans of wetland vegetation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akhalkatsi M, Abdaladze O, Nakhutsrishvili G, Smith WK (2006) Facilitation of seedling microsites by Rhododendron caucaskum extends the Betula litwinowii Alpine treeline, Caucasus Mountains, Republic of Georgia. Arct Antarct Alp Res 38:481–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Callaway R (1994) Positive interactions in communities. Trends Ecol Evol 9:191–193

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Maestre FT, Callaway RM, Lortie CL, Cavieres LA, Kunstler G, Liancourt P, Tielborger K, Travis JMJ, Anthelme F, Armas C, Coll L, Corcket E, Delzon S, Forey E, Kikvidze Z, Olofsson J, Pugnaire F, Quiroz CL, Saccone P, Schiffers K, Seifan M, Touzard B, Michalet R (2008) Facilitation in plant communities: the past, the present, and the future. J Ecol 96:18–34. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01295.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Stachowicz JJ, Bertness MD (2003) Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends Ecol Evol 18:119–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (1995) Positive interactions among plants. Bot Rev 61:306–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (1997) Positive interactions in plant communities and the individualistic-continuum concept. Oecologia 112:143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (2007) Positive interactions and interdependence in plant communities. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Pennings SC (2000) Facilitation may buffer competitive effects: indirect and diffuse interactions among salt marsh plants. Am Nat 156:416–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Kikodze D, Chiboshvili M, Khetsuriani L (2005) Unpalatable plants protect neighbors from grazing and increase plant community diversity. Ecology 86:1856–1862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casella G, George EI (1992) Explaining the Gibbs sampler. Am Stat 46:167–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro J, Zamora R, Hodar JA, Gomez JM (2002) Use of shrubs as nurse plants: a new technique for reforestation in Mediterranean mountains. Restor Ecol 10:297–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavieres LA, Badano EI (2009) Do facilitative interactions increase species richness at the entire community level? J Ecol 97:1181–1191. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2009.01579.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crain CM, Bertness ND (2005) Community impacts of a tussock sedge: is ecosystem engineering important in benign habitats? Ecology 86:2695–2704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressie N, Calder CA, Clark JS, Hoef JMV, Wikle CK (2009) Accounting for uncertainty in ecological analysis: the strengths and limitations of hierarchical statistical modeling. Ecol Appl 19:553–570

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison AM (2004) Bayesian inference in ecology. Ecol Lett 7:509–520. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00603.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ervin GN (2007) An experimental study on the facilitative effects of tussock structure among wetland plants. Wetlands 27:620–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fidelis A, Overbeck GE, Pillar VD, Pfadenhauer J (2009) The ecological value of Eryngium horridum in maintaining biodiversity in subtropical grasslands. Aust Ecol 34:558–566. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.01959.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fogel BN, Crain CM, Bertness MD (2004) Community level engineering effects of Triglochin maritima (seaside arrowgrass) in a salt marsh in northern New England, USA. J Ecol 92:589–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freestone AL (2006) Facilitation drives local abundance and regional distribution of a rare plant in a harsh environment. Ecology 87:2728–2735

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gelman A, Carlin JB, Stern HS, Rubin DB (2004) Bayesian data analysis, 2nd edn. Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Geyer CJ (1992) Practical Markov chain Monte Carlo. Stat Sci 7:473–483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez-Aparicio L, Zamora R, Gomez JM, Hodar JA, Castro J, Baraza E (2004) Applying plant facilitation to forest restoration: a meta-analysis of the use of shrubs as nurse plants. Ecol Appl 14:1128–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groeneveld EVG, Masse A, Rochefort L (2007) Polytrichum strictum as a nurse-plant in peatland restoration. Restor Ecol 15:709–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoeting JA (2009) The importance of accounting for spatial and temporal correlation in analyses of ecological data. Ecol Appl 19:574–577

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ibaraki Prefecture (1997) Red data book of wild plants in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Ibaraki Prefecture (in Japanese)

  • King EG, Stanton ML (2008) Facilitative effects of Aloe shrubs on grass establishment, growth, and reproduction in degraded Kenyan rangelands: implications for restoration. Restor Ecol 16:464–474. doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2007.00310.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lunn DJ, Thomas A, Best N, Spiegelhalter D (2000) WinBUGS—a Bayesian modelling framework: concepts, structure, and extensibility. Stat Comput 10:325–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakada T, Shiozawa S, Yoshida K (2009) Water cycle and water level fluctuations in Myoginohana floodplain located at lakefront of Kasumigaura. J Jpn Soc Hydrol Water Resour 22:456–465 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishihiro J, Washitani I (2009) Quantitative evaluation of water-level effects on “regeneration safe-sites” for lakeshore plants in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. Lake Reserv Manag 25:217–223. doi:10.1080/07438140902938332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishihiro J, Araki S, Fujiwara N, Washitani I (2004a) Germination characteristics of lakeshore plants under an artificially stabilized water regime. Aquat Bot 79:333–343. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2004.05.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishihiro J, Miyawaki S, Fujiwara N, Washitani I (2004b) Regeneration failure of lakeshore plants under an artificially altered water regime. Ecol Res 19:613–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nozoe K, Nishihiro J, Hotes S, Washitani I (2010) Importance of Ischaemum aristatum var. glaucum as an indicator of plant species richness in Myoginohana Marsh, Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. Jpn J Conserv Ecol 15:281–290 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogle K (2009) Hierarchical Bayesian statistics: merging experimental and modeling approaches in ecology. Ecol Appl 19:577–581

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peach M, Zedler JB (2006) How tussocks structure sedge meadow vegetation. Wetlands 26:322–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson JE, Baldwin AH (2004) Seedling emergence from seed banks of tidal freshwater wetlands: response to inundation and sedimentation. Aquat Bot 78:243–254. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2003.10.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.R-project.org

  • Richard F, Selosse MA, Gardes M (2009) Facilitated establishment of Quercus ilex in shrub-dominated communities within a Mediterranean ecosystem: do mycorrhizal partners matter? FEMS Microbiol Ecol 68:14–24. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2009.00646.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tewksbury JJ, Lloyd JD (2001) Positive interactions under nurse-plants: spatial scale, stress gradients and benefactor size. Oecologia 127:425–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tirado R, Pugnaire FI (2005) Community structure and positive interactions in constraining environments. Oikos 111:437–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdu M, Valiente-Banuet A (2008) The nested assembly of plant facilitation networks prevents species extinctions. Am Nat 172:751–760. doi:10.1086/593003

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Washitani I, Tang Y (1991) Microsite variation in light availability and seedling growth of Quercus serrata in a temperate pine forest. Ecol Res 6:305–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yabe K (1985) Distribution and formation of tussocks in Mobara-Yatsumi Marsh. Jpn J Ecol 35:183–192

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the River Fund in charge of the Foundation of River and Watershed Environment Management and a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) 19710198 in charge of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan, to J. Nishihiro.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Conservation Ecology, Department of Ecosystem Studies, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Zhe Wang, Jun Nishihiro & Izumi Washitani

Authors
  1. Zhe Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jun Nishihiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Izumi Washitani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhe Wang.

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, Z., Nishihiro, J. & Washitani, I. Facilitation of plant species richness and endangered species by a tussock grass in a moist tall grassland revealed using hierarchical Bayesian analysis. Ecol Res 26, 1103–1111 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0862-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0862-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation