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The local distribution of a perennial bunchgrass: biotic or abiotic control?

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Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the relative importance of biotic versus abiotic factors in determining the distribution of species among heterogeneous environments. The composition of 70 quadrats of 0.25-m2, located in a 13-m × 40-m region of a mown field in Durham, North Carolina, was defined through two sets of principal component scores representing soil and vegetation gradients in the study area. The first principal component in each of the analyses exhibited a monotonic increase in value along an elevational gradient characterizing the field. This represents a one-dimensional correlation structure between the background soil and vegetation variables. Secondary soil and vegetation gradients, represented by the remaining principal component axes, were for the most part uncorrelated.

Regression analyses were used to study the relationships coupling the distribution of Danthonia sericea, a bunchgrass species, to the distribution of associated soil and vegetation gradients. The correlation of the distribution of Danthonia to the dominant soil/vegetation gradient was highly significant. In addition, strong, secondary correlations with the background vegetation remained after removal of variance associated with soil composition; the converse was, in general, not true. One exception involved a minor zinc gradient that exhibited a negative correlation with the distribution of Danthonia. A strong correlation was found coupling an interaction term associated with the primary soil/vegetation gradient to the distribution of Danthonia. The results suggest that the present distribution of Danthonia is modified to a large extent by competitive interactions with other plant species. However, the relative significance of the soil-by-vegetation interaction term also indicates that soil composition must be explicitly considered to properly understand the role of biotic interactions. Any one factor, biotic or abiotic, may modify the distribution of a species, but the way in which it modifies the distribution will depend directly upon the composition of the other factors making up the biotic and abiotic, environmental background.

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Abbreviations

Danthonia =:

the species Danthonia sericea

PC =:

principal component

PCA =:

principal component analysis

SS =:

sum of squares

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Author notes

  1. Kirk A. Moloney

    Present address: Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Corson Hall, 14853, Ithaca, NY, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Duke University, 27706, Durham, NC, USA

    Kirk A. Moloney

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Moloney, K.A. The local distribution of a perennial bunchgrass: biotic or abiotic control?. Vegetatio 80, 47–61 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00049140

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