PLANT COMPETITION UNDERGROUND

@article{Casper1997PLANTCU,
  title={PLANT COMPETITION UNDERGROUND},
  author={Brenda B. Casper and Robert B. Jackson},
  journal={Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics},
  year={1997},
  volume={28},
  pages={545-570}
}
  • B. CasperR. B. Jackson
  • Published 1 November 1997
  • Environmental Science
  • Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
Belowground competition occurs when plants decrease the growth, survival, or fecundity of neighbors by reducing available soil resources. Competition belowground can be stronger and involve many more neighbors than aboveground competition. Physiological ecologists and population or community ecologists have traditionally studied belowground competition from different perspectives. Physiologically based studies often measure resource uptake without determining the integrated consequences for… 
View via Publisher
www2.yk.psu.edu
1,057 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
54
Background Citations
548
Methods Citations
12
Results Citations
16

Figures from this paper

1,057 Citations

Belowground ecological interactions in mixed-species forest plantations

Plant root proliferation in nitrogen–rich patches confers competitive advantage

It is shown that N capture is associated strongly with proliferation during interspecific competition for finite, locally available, mixed N sources, precisely the conditions under which N becomes available to plants on generally infertile soils.

Early Root Overproduction Not Triggered by Nutrients Decisive for Competitive Success Belowground

The results suggest that species may achieve competitive superiority for nutrients by root growth stimulation prior to nutrient depletion, induced by the presence of a competitor species, rather than by a better ability to compete for nutrients per se.

Plant Competition: Can Understanding Trait-Behavior Linkages Offer a New Perspective on Very Old Questions?

There is a need for adopting new perspectives on the functional and evolutionary ecology of plant competition by acknowledging a degree of certainty has been placed on long-established concepts that may not always be consistent with data.

Biodiversity and belowground interactions mediate community invasion resistance against a tall herb invader

Belowground competition can render species-rich host communities more suppressive to newly arriving species, thus enhancing community invasion resistance, according to species richness of the host community.

Investigating the relationship between neighbor root biomass and belowground competition: field evidence for symmetric competition belowground

Reduced belowground competition in areas with low root biomass could have important implications for the establishment and growth of poor belowground competitors, suggesting a mechanism by which species coexistence may occur despite extremely intense root competition.

Soil nutrient heterogeneity alters competition between two perennial grass species

The perennial grasses Festuca rubra and Anthoxanthum odoratum have comparable growth rates, but results of previous studies with isolated plants designated the latter species as the more effective forager, probably due to its higher physiological plasticity.

Exclusion of root competition increases competitive abilities of subordinate plant species through root–shoot interactions

It is demonstrated that root competition through rootshoot competition interactions is an important factor driving the competitive dominance of species and the structure of grazed grassland communities.

Aboveground insect herbivory increases plant competitive asymmetry, while belowground herbivory mitigates the effect

It is shown that insect herbivory can strongly influence plant competitive interactions and appeared to mitigate the influence of aboveground herbivor, and this mechanism may play a role for plant species coexistence.

Fertilization effects on interactions between above-and belowground competition in an old field

There was evidence for an in- teraction between above- and belowground competition, and the form of interaction varied with productivity, switching from no interaction in the unfertilized block to a positive interactions in the fertilized block.
...

131 References

Above‐ and Belowground Competition Intensity in Two Contrasting Wetland Plant Communities

Results based on the two species separately show that species vary in their sensitivity to competition in wetland communities.

Costs and benefits of constructing roots of small diameter

It is shown that evergreen plants with greater leaf longevity commonly have thicker leaves, lower photosynthetic capacity, and lower respiration rates than deciduous plants, and these kinds of relationships may also be true for thi...

Root competition in soils of different fertility: aparadox resolved?

It is proposed that the paradox can be resolved as a result of suc­ cess in competition for nutrients being dependent on quite different plant properties in soil initially free of roots, and in soil with a relatively constant steady state mass of fine roots.

Root and shoot competition intensity along a soil depth gradient

A graphical model is suggested that relates the various effects of competition and mutualism to biomass levels which may reconcile apparently contradictory field studies of competition.

Component of Plant Competition Along an Experimental Gradient of Nitrogen Availability

In total, competition was an important force at all points along the experimental productivity gradient, but competition shifted from being mainly belowground in the least productive vegetation to both above— andBelowground in fertilized plots.

PLANT COMPETITION AND RESOURCE AVAILABILITY IN RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE AND FERTILIZATION

Measurements of light, soil nitrogen, and above- and be- lowground competition in vegetation that had received four combinations of fertilization and disturbance for 3 yr indicate variation in stress and disturbance.

IS PHYSICAL SPACE A SOIL RESOURCE

Results indicate that physical underground space, released in the formation of certain types of gaps, may influence the performance of colonizing annuals beyond providing access to other soil resources, such as nutrients and water.

Resource Capture by Localized Root Proliferation: Why Do Plants Bother?

This implies an ‘over-production’ of roots in response to localized nitrate availability, prompting a re-evaluation of the nature and implications of the response mechanism(s) of roots to soil heterogeneity.

Root System Response of a Perennial Bunchgrass to Neighbourhood-Scale Soil Water Heterogeneity

The ability of the perennial bunchgrass Bouteloua gracilis to exploit resources in central and outer portions of root systems was evaluated to explain scales of strong neigbhour interaction and gap dynamics observed in shortgrass steppe.

Symmetry of below-ground competition between Kochia scoparia individuals

It is demonstrated that competition for resources below ground can be symmetric and that when competition is symmetric, it will not exacerbate initial size differences.
...