TY - JOUR
T1 - Fine-scale species co-occurrence patterns in an old-growth temperate forest
AU - Zhang, Jian
AU - Hao, Zhanqing
AU - Song, Bo
AU - Li, Buhang
AU - Wang, Xugao
AU - Ye, Ji
PY - 2009/4/30
Y1 - 2009/4/30
N2 - The pattern of species co-occurrence is instrumental for understanding community assembly rules. In this paper, we analyzed the co-occurrence of tree species in a 25-ha old-growth temperate forest plot in Northeastern China. The analysis was conducted at seven scales from 5 m × 5 m up to 100 m × 100 m in order to determine the patterns of co-occurrence at different spatial scales. Our analyses were conducted for all species, species with larger abundances, species with larger sizes, and five phylogenetic-based species groups. Our results showed that at smaller scales, the co-occurrence patterns of all species, species with larger abundances, and species with larger sizes were significantly higher than expected by chance, suggesting that strong interspecies competition exists in the community. At larger scales, there was no significant difference compared to randomized matrices. The result indicated that plant assembly rules are only found at small spatial scales. However, when co-occurrence metrics were restricted to phylogenetic groups, we could not find any clear evidence of interspecific competition within these groups. In conclusion, we found that competition is an important assembly rule at small scales in governing tree communities of our temperate forest, although it is not the only process involved. The importance of other processes should also be taken into account to explain species co-occurrence patterns.
AB - The pattern of species co-occurrence is instrumental for understanding community assembly rules. In this paper, we analyzed the co-occurrence of tree species in a 25-ha old-growth temperate forest plot in Northeastern China. The analysis was conducted at seven scales from 5 m × 5 m up to 100 m × 100 m in order to determine the patterns of co-occurrence at different spatial scales. Our analyses were conducted for all species, species with larger abundances, species with larger sizes, and five phylogenetic-based species groups. Our results showed that at smaller scales, the co-occurrence patterns of all species, species with larger abundances, and species with larger sizes were significantly higher than expected by chance, suggesting that strong interspecies competition exists in the community. At larger scales, there was no significant difference compared to randomized matrices. The result indicated that plant assembly rules are only found at small spatial scales. However, when co-occurrence metrics were restricted to phylogenetic groups, we could not find any clear evidence of interspecific competition within these groups. In conclusion, we found that competition is an important assembly rule at small scales in governing tree communities of our temperate forest, although it is not the only process involved. The importance of other processes should also be taken into account to explain species co-occurrence patterns.
KW - Assembly rule
KW - Community structure
KW - Interspecific competition
KW - Spatial pattern
KW - Temperate forest
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=63749123021&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.02.016
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.02.016
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:63749123021
SN - 0378-1127
VL - 257
SP - 2115
EP - 2120
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
IS - 10
ER -