Facilitative Interactions and the Dynamics of Salt Marsh Plant Communities

9306349 Bertness本研究考察了积极互动在塑造盐沼植物群落中的相对重要性。它验证了这样一个假设，即积极的相互作用是恶劣物理环境的特征，因为无根生物经常在物理压力下相互缓冲。该项目将研究促进性现象在盐沼压力梯度中的分布，以量化促进性相互作用与压力生境的关联，探索促进性相互作用在沼泽植物之间产生的机制，并调查促进性相互作用对沼泽植物分布模式的群落影响。与竞争相比，积极互动在自然群落中所起的作用很少受到关注，在关于社区组织的一般性讨论中通常被忽视。这项工作将直接研究促进现象在影响广泛的原生植物群落的过程和模式中的重要性，从而有助于理解促进在自然界中所起的作用。＊＊＊

9306349 Bertness This study examines the relative importance of positive interactions in shaping salt marsh plant communities. It tests the hypothesis that positive interactions are characteristic of harsh physical environments since sessile organisms frequently buffer one another from physical stress. The project will examine the distribution of facilitative phenomena across salt marsh stress gradients to quantify the association of facilitative interactions with stressful habitats, explore the mechanisms (s) responsible for generating facilitative interactions among marsh plants, and investigate the community repercussions of facilitative associations on the distribution patterns of marsh plants. %%% In contrast to competition, the role played by positive interactions in natural communities has received little attention and is usually ignored in general discussions of community organization. This work will directly examine the importance of facilitative phenomena in affecting process and pattern in a widespread native plant community and thus contribute to understanding the role played by facilitations in nature. ***