Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.

Studies on the importance of seed arrival for community richness and composition have not considered the number of seeds arriving and its effect on species richness and composition of natural communities is thus unknown. A series of experimental dry grassland communities were established. All commun...

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Autor principal:	Zuzana Münzbergová
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/76584bb0996642f9ac2caa0b97256f90
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:76584bb0996642f9ac2caa0b97256f902021-11-18T08:12:06ZSeed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0046704https://doaj.org/article/76584bb0996642f9ac2caa0b97256f902012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23077519/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Studies on the importance of seed arrival for community richness and composition have not considered the number of seeds arriving and its effect on species richness and composition of natural communities is thus unknown. A series of experimental dry grassland communities were established. All communities were composed of the same 44 species in exactly the same proportions on two substrates using three different seed densities.The results showed that seed density had an effect on species richness only at the beginning of the experiment. In contrast, the effects on species composition persisted across the entire study period. The results do not support the prediction that due to higher competition for light in nutrient-rich soil, species richness will be the highest in the treatment with the lowest seed density. However, the prevalence of small plants in the lowest seed density supported the expectation that low seed density guarantees low competition under high soil nutrients. In the nutrient-poor soil, species richness was the highest at the medium seed density, indicating that species richness reflects the balance between competition and limitations caused by the availability of propagules or their ability to establish themselves. This medium seed density treatment also contained the smallest plants.The results demonstrate that future seed addition experiments need to consider the amount of seed added so that it reflects the amount of seed that is naturally found in the field. Differences in seed density, mimicking different intensity of the seed rain may also explain differences in the composition of natural communities that cannot be attributed to habitat conditions. The results also have important implications for studies regarding the consequences of habitat fragmentation suggesting that increasing fragmentation may change species compositions not only due to different dispersal abilities but also due to differential response of plants to overall seed density.Zuzana MünzbergováPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 10, p e46704 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Zuzana Münzbergová Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
description	Studies on the importance of seed arrival for community richness and composition have not considered the number of seeds arriving and its effect on species richness and composition of natural communities is thus unknown. A series of experimental dry grassland communities were established. All communities were composed of the same 44 species in exactly the same proportions on two substrates using three different seed densities.The results showed that seed density had an effect on species richness only at the beginning of the experiment. In contrast, the effects on species composition persisted across the entire study period. The results do not support the prediction that due to higher competition for light in nutrient-rich soil, species richness will be the highest in the treatment with the lowest seed density. However, the prevalence of small plants in the lowest seed density supported the expectation that low seed density guarantees low competition under high soil nutrients. In the nutrient-poor soil, species richness was the highest at the medium seed density, indicating that species richness reflects the balance between competition and limitations caused by the availability of propagules or their ability to establish themselves. This medium seed density treatment also contained the smallest plants.The results demonstrate that future seed addition experiments need to consider the amount of seed added so that it reflects the amount of seed that is naturally found in the field. Differences in seed density, mimicking different intensity of the seed rain may also explain differences in the composition of natural communities that cannot be attributed to habitat conditions. The results also have important implications for studies regarding the consequences of habitat fragmentation suggesting that increasing fragmentation may change species compositions not only due to different dispersal abilities but also due to differential response of plants to overall seed density.
format	article
author	Zuzana Münzbergová
author_facet	Zuzana Münzbergová
author_sort	Zuzana Münzbergová
title	Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
title_short	Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
title_full	Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
title_fullStr	Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
title_full_unstemmed	Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
title_sort	seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/76584bb0996642f9ac2caa0b97256f90
work_keys_str_mv	AT zuzanamunzbergova seeddensitysignificantlyaffectsspeciesrichnessandcompositioninexperimentalplantcommunities
_version_	1718422049804779520

Seed density significantly affects species richness and composition in experimental plant communities.

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