Abstract
Effects of human trampling and multispecies competition on the development of a tread community in the first year were examined by comparing changes in the relative abundance of three main component species of tread communities,Plantago asiatica, Eragrostis ferruginea andEleusine indica, between monoculture and mixed culture along a trampling gradient. At low trampling levels in mixed culture,Ambrosia artemisiifolia var.elatior andDigitaria adscendens, which are common pioneer species of secondary succession, predominated and suppressed the tread community species. Severe trampling reduced markedly the predominance of the pioneer species, but not that of the tread community species. The maximum cover of the three tread commiunty species was lower in mixed culture than in monoculture. The trampling levels supporting the maximum cover were higher in mixed culture than in monoculture. The differences in these levels between monoculture and mixed culture varied among the three:P. asiatica< Eragrostis ferruginea<Eleusine indica. These results suggest that (1) the pioneer species interfere with the establishment of tread community species under lower trampling intensity, (2) heavier trampling reduces the competitive ability of pioneer species, while it favors the establishment of tread community species, (3), there are competitive interactions among the tread community species under higher trampling intensity, and (4) the species more susceptible to multispecies competition and tolerant to trampling are established in more heavily trampled habitats.
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Ikeda, H., Okutomi, K. Effects of human trampling and multispecies competition on early-phase development of a tread community. Ecol. Res. 5, 41–54 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348462
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348462