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Sexual and vegetative reproduction of Hieracium pilosella L. under competition and disturbance : a grid-based simulation model

Winkler, E. and Stöcklin, Jürg. (2002) Sexual and vegetative reproduction of Hieracium pilosella L. under competition and disturbance : a grid-based simulation model. Annals of Botany, 89 (5). pp. 525-536.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A4708105

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Abstract

Populationsbiologie We used a spatially explicit simulation model to examine the relative importance of vegetative and sexual reproduction in Hieracium pilosella L. Based on an understanding of the complex life cycle of this species and on data from in situ population dynamics in a calcareous grassland in NW Switzerland, we simulated growth and the relative contribution of clonal reproduction by stolons and reproduction by seeds across a gradient of increasing soil fertility. Competition by a clonal grass resulted in nearly complete exclusion of H. pilosella from the more fertile part of the simulation plot. Under low soil fertility, when grass could not survive, H. pilosella largely persisted by vegetatively produced rosettes. This pattern of a sharp separation of both species was shifted slightly in favour of H. pilosella by introducing random disturbances. Only by adding: (1) long-distance seed dispersal, and (2) facilitation of seedling establishment in the vicinity of grass tussocks in vegetation gaps was a more realistic representation of field observations realised, with rosettes of H. pilosella grown from seeds occasionally distributed within dense grass vegetation. Phenotypic plasticity of stolon length was a decisive factor for the maintenance of H. pilosella populations. We conclude that a mixed strategy of clonal growth and reproduction by seeds in H. pilosella is necessary to maintain populations of this species in the presence of high interspecific competition and a shortage of open space.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Ehemalige Einheiten Umweltwissenschaften > Pflanzenökologie (Körner)
UniBasel Contributors:Stöcklin, Jürg
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:0305-7364
e-ISSN:1095-8290
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
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Last Modified:13 Nov 2017 16:08
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 14:12

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