Present address. Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653.
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What drives retrogressive succession? Plant strategies to tolerate infertile and poorly drained soils
Article first published online: 17 FEB 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01688.x
© 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 British Ecological Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Gaxiola, A., McNeill, S. M. and Coomes, D. A. (2010), What drives retrogressive succession? Plant strategies to tolerate infertile and poorly drained soils. Functional Ecology, 24: 714–722. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01688.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 13 JUL 2010
- Article first published online: 17 FEB 2010
- Received 25 September 2009; accepted 7 January 2010 Handling Editor: Mark Tjoelker
Keywords:
- adventitious roots;
- gymnosperm;
- New Zealand;
- root:shoot ratio;
- specific root length;
- stress-tolerator;
- temperate rain forest;
- Waitutu chronosequence
Summary
1. During retrogressive succession, vegetation shifts from taller forests with higher species richness to shorter woody communities of lower diversity. Studies of soil chronosequences have emphasized the role of phosphorus (P) depletion in driving these changes in community structure and composition, but neglected the possible role of poor drainage which is often associated with the oldest sites.
2. We used a fully factorial pot experiment to investigate the effects of soil water conditions and P availability on seedling relative growth rate and survival of 11 woody species associated with a 290 000-year chronosequence in southern New Zealand. Species were chosen to represent three stages of the chronosequence: young P-rich soils; intermediate-age P-depleted soils; and old P-depleted, waterlogged soils. Plants were grown in soils taken from youngest and oldest sites of the chronosequence; half the pots were freely drained whilst the other half were waterlogged.
3. Species associated with intermediate-age soils were typical ‘stress-tolerators’; those of the youngest and oldest sites were faster growing and more responsive to nutrient availability. Only the latter showed tolerance of waterlogging. Specific root length and adventitious-root production were important determinants of species’ responses to soil water conditions and nutrient supply.
4. Our study highlights that soil waterlogging and P depletion interact to influence relative growth rate and survival; P depletion is not the sole driver of ecosystem changes in the retrogressive stages of the soil chronosequence. We also show that some species associated with our retrogression did not necessarily conform to conventional views on ‘stress-tolerance’, but were well adapted to poor drainage.