Are plant populations seed-limited? A review of seed sowing experiments

• Published in: Oikos Vol. 88; no. 2; pp. 225 - 238
• Main Authors: Turnbull, Lindsay A., Crawley, Michael J., Rees, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copenhagen Munksgaard International Publishers 01.02.2000; Munksgaard International Publishers, Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Ecological competition; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Grasses; Habitats; Metapopulation ecology; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); Mini-Review; Plants; Population dynamics; Population ecology; Seedlings; Sowing; Species; Sowing; Animal plant relation; Plant community; Limitation; Seed; Browsing; Population recruitment; Granivorous; Review; Experimental study; Mathematical model

We define seed limitation to be an increase in population size following seed addition. Here, we briefly consider how theoretical models deal with seed limitation and how seed sowing experiments can be used to unravel the extent of seed limitation in natural systems. We review two types of seed addi...