Effects of a directional abiotic gradient on plant community dynamics and invasion in a coastal dune system

• Published in: The Journal of ecology Vol. 95; no. 3; pp. 468 - 481
• Main Authors: LORTIE, CHRISTOPHER J, CUSHMAN, J. HALL
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2007; British Ecological Society; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Botany; California; coastal dunes; Coastal ecology; Communities; Demecology; Dunes; Ecological invasion; Effects; Flowers & plants; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; gradients; Human ecology; Indigenous species; Introduced plants; Introduced species; Marine; nitrates; nitrogen availability; Plant communities; plant community composition; Plant ecology; plant invasions; Plant Population and Community Dynamics; Plant species; Plants; Plants and fungi; Relative abundance; sand; Sand & gravel; Soil moisture; soil particle size; Soil texture; Soil water; species diversity; Species richness; Synecology; wind; Wind speed; INE, USA, California; California; Availability; Wind; Particle size; Plant community; gradients; plant community composition; nitrogen availability; Vegetation dynamics; Nitrogen; coastal dunes; Invasion; plant invasions; Abiotic factor; Soils; Plant; soil particle size; Coastal dune; abiotic factors

1 Local abiotic factors are likely to play a crucial role in modifying the relative abundance of native and exotic species in plant communities. Natural gradients provide an ideal opportunity to test this hypothesis. 2 In a coastal dune system in northern California, we used comparative and experime...