Spatial relations and population structure of a dominant tree along a treeline ecotone in the Tropical Andes: interactions at gradient and plant-neighbourhood scales

dc.creatorLlambí, Luis Daniel
dc.creatorPuentes, Johanna
dc.creatorGarcía Nuñez, Carlos
dc.date2014-10-28T18:56:16Z
dc.date2014-10-28T18:56:16Z
dc.date2013
dc.date.accessioned2022-11-16T17:57:20Z
dc.date.available2022-11-16T17:57:20Z
dc.identifierhttp://www.saber.ula.ve/handle/123456789/39188
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorioslatinoamericanos.uchile.cl/handle/2250/5198997
dc.descriptionBackground: Studies in temperate mountains suggest that plant-plant interactions modulate tree establishment above the forest line. In tropical mountains worldwide this issue remains largely unexplored. Aims: To analyse the population structure and local spatial relationships of a dominant tree at a species-rich tropical Andean forest line. Methods: We determined changes in the population structure of Diplostephium venezuelense along an elevation gradient between continuous forest and open páramo and analysed plant community structure and superficial rock cover in in the neighbourhood of saplings and adults at the upper forest line. Results: Sapling and adult densities were highest in low-altitude páramos adjacent to the forest line and at the borders of small forest islands. Saplings showed local spatial aggregation, were positively associated with small boulders and low shrubs and negatively associated with mosses and lichens. However, no spatial association was found between scattered adults in the páramo and saplings of other forest trees. Conclusions: Complex species-specific local spatial interactions, suggesting both facilitative and antagonistic effects, seem to modulate the establishment of the dominant tree D. venezuelense at and above the upper forest line. Nevertheless, the establishment of other tree species above continuous forests does not appear to be facilitated by the canopy cover offered by the isolated D. venezuelense individuals established in open páramo environments.
dc.description343-353
dc.descriptionllambi@ula.ve
dc.descriptioncgarcia@ula.ve
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.languageen
dc.publisherPlant Ecology and Diversity 6(3-4): 343-353
dc.publisherVenezuela
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ve/
dc.subjectelevation gradient
dc.subjectfacilitation
dc.subjectlocal spatial structure
dc.subjectplant-plant interactions
dc.subjectsafe-sites
dc.subjecttreeline dynamics
dc.subjectFacultad de Ciencias
dc.subjectUniversidad de Los Andes
dc.subjectBiología
dc.subjectArtículos
dc.subjectInstituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Ecológicas (ICAE)
dc.titleSpatial relations and population structure of a dominant tree along a treeline ecotone in the Tropical Andes: interactions at gradient and plant-neighbourhood scales
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.typeTexto


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