Can the storage effect hypothesis explain weed co-existence on the Broadbalk long-term fertiliser experiment?

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Garcia De Leon, D., Storkey, J., Moss, S. R. and Gonzalez-Andujar, J. L. 2014. Can the storage effect hypothesis explain weed co-existence on the Broadbalk long-term fertiliser experiment? Weed Research. 54 (5), pp. 445-456. https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12097

AuthorsGarcia De Leon, D., Storkey, J., Moss, S. R. and Gonzalez-Andujar, J. L.
Abstract

Understanding how plant species with similar resource requirements co-exist has been a long-standing ecological question with several theoretical explanations. One potential mechanism is the storage effect hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, species co-exist because they differ in when they are most actively using resource and, therefore, respond differently to environmental perturbation. The hypothesis is based on two main assumptions: (i) two competitors have different responses to climate and (ii) the responses to climate are mediated by changes in the relative importance of intra- and interspecific competition. The hypothesis could provide useful insights into the role of climate in maintaining weed species diversity and potential shifts in dominant species under climate change. This study tested the basic principles of the storage effect hypothesis on weed communities using data from the Broadbalk long-term fertiliser experiment. Relative abundance of weeds in 10 plots with contrasting fertility but no herbicides was assessed for 21years. Multivariate analyses and generalised additive mixed models were used to analyse the data. The following pairs of species were found to be adapted to similar fertiliser levels, but diverged in their response to climate: (i) Papaver rhoeas-Tripleurospermum inodorum, (ii) Medicago lupulina-Vicia sativa and (iii) Scandix pecten-veneris-Ranunculus arvensis. Contrasting responses to spring temperature within these species pairs modified the competition balance providing evidence for the storage effect hypothesis and helping to explain weed co-existence in the Broadbalk experiment.

KeywordsAgronomy; Plant Sciences; Long term experiments
Year of Publication2014
JournalWeed Research
Journal citation54 (5), pp. 445-456
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12097
Open accessPublished as non-open access
FunderConsejeria de Educacion y Ciencia de la Junta de la Comunidad de Castilla-La Mancha of Spain
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
JAE-Predoc-LINCGlobal scholarship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
FEDER
Funder project or codeDelivering Sustainable Systems (SS) [ISPG]
Combating herbicide resistance by developing and promoting more sustainable grass-weed control strategies
Quantifying Sustainable Systems
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online30 Jun 2014
Publication process dates
Accepted22 Apr 2014
Copyright licensePublisher copyright
Grant IDPOII10-0123-5554
AGL2012-33736
PublisherWiley
ISSN0043-1737

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