DOES INTERFERENCE CAUSE NICHE DIFFERENTIATION? EVIDENCE FROM SUBALPINE PLANT COMMUNITIES

Abstract

The effects of interference on community structure of subalpine meadows were investigated. Adults greatly reduced seedling survival in the greenhouse, and natural seedling survival was low. In fell fields, nurse plant effects were common, while survival was confined to gaps in productive meadows. A greenhouse experiment demonstrated that community dominants were strong competitors able to suppress subordinates. Simulated grazing of Festuca, a dominant, reduced its yield relative to most subordinates. Interference intensity appears to be a function of productivity and proximity. The proportion of negative species associations increased as productivity increased. Morphological similarity between species is least in the most productive community, but greatest where productivity is only moderate. Interference may permit only relatively dissimilar species to coexist unless it is ameliorated by factors such as grazing or heterogeneity. Spacing patterns suggest that minimal contact between dominants and other species is a characteristic of communities with intense interference. The evidence points to this hypothesis: interference acts contemporaneously to limit niche width in productive communities, but evolutionary changes are unlikely where complete dominance is possible and specialization is not a viable option. In contrast, species in unproductive communities, where abiotic stress is likely to have been an evolutionary force, appear genetically more niche differentiated. Where contemporary interference is moderate, evolutionary effects are possible because species may use resources not preempted by the dominants.