IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0058518.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Co-occurrence Patterns along a Regional Aridity Gradient of the Subtropical Andes Do Not Support Stress Gradient Hypotheses

Author

Listed:
  • Ramiro Pablo López
  • Sergio Valdivia
  • Mónica L Rivera
  • Rodrigo S Rios

Abstract

The stress gradient hypothesis posits that facilitation and stress are positively correlated. The hump-shaped hypothesis, on the contrary, proposes that facilitation is greater at intermediate stress levels. The relationship between facilitation and environmental stress is commonly studied at small spatial scales and/or considering few species; thus, the implications of facilitation at a community level remain poorly understood. Here, we analyzed local co-occurrence patterns of all plant species at 25 sites within the subtropical Andes to evaluate the role of facilitation and competition as drivers of community structure. We considered a wide latitudinal gradient (19–26°S) that incorporates great variation in aridity. No previous studies have attempted to study these patterns across such a broad scale in warm deserts. Each locality was sampled at two scales (quadrat and patch), and co-occurrence was analyzed via null models. Furthermore, we tested for a relationship between plant co-occurrences and environmental aridity. Resulting patterns depended on life form. When all species were considered, negative associations were found, indicating competition. Woody/cactus life forms tended to be associated across communities, suggesting that there is facilitation between these life forms. Additionally, and unlike previous studies, we found positive associations among shrubs. The strength of the association between woody species changed non-monotonically with aridity. Herbs showed an inverted hump-shaped relationship, albeit ranging mostly among neutral values. Independent of the association type exhibited by different life forms, our community level results do not support current stress gradient hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramiro Pablo López & Sergio Valdivia & Mónica L Rivera & Rodrigo S Rios, 2013. "Co-occurrence Patterns along a Regional Aridity Gradient of the Subtropical Andes Do Not Support Stress Gradient Hypotheses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-10, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0058518
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058518
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058518
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058518&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0058518?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ragan M. Callaway & R. W. Brooker & Philippe Choler & Zaal Kikvidze & Christopher J. Lortie & Richard Michalet & Leonardo Paolini & Francisco I. Pugnaire & Beth Newingham & Erik T. Aschehoug & Cristin, 2002. "Positive interactions among alpine plants increase with stress," Nature, Nature, vol. 417(6891), pages 844-848, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael A Treberg & Roy Turkington, 2014. "Species-Specific Responses to Community Density in an Unproductive Perennial Plant Community," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Feng Zhang & Cang Hui, 2011. "Eco-Evolutionary Feedback and the Invasion of Cooperation in Prisoner's Dilemma Games," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-7, November.
    3. Xiao, Sa & Zhao, Liang & Zhang, Jia-Lin & Wang, Xiang-Tai & Chen, Shu-Yan, 2013. "The integration of facilitation into the neutral theory of community assembly," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 127-134.
    4. Dekaj, Ermanda & Gjini, Erida, 2024. "Pneumococcus and the stress-gradient hypothesis: A trade-off links R0 and susceptibility to co-colonization across countries," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 77-92.
    5. Jialing Huang & Yihang Li & Yu Shi & Lihong Wang & Qing Zhou & Xiaohua Huang, 2019. "Effects of nutrient level and planting density on population relationship in soybean and wheat intercropping populations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Shuai Zhang & Tingting Liu & Wenwen Wei & Lei Shen & Xiuyuan Wang & Tayir Tuertia & Luhua Li & Wei Zhang, 2022. "In Arid Regions, Forage Mulching between Fruit Trees Rows Enhances Fruit Tree Light and Lowers Soil Salinity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Astrid Welk & Erik Welk & Helge Bruelheide, 2014. "Biotic Interactions Overrule Plant Responses to Climate, Depending on the Species' Biogeography," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-11, October.
    8. Wenxing Long & Runguo Zang & Yi Ding & Yunfeng Huang, 2013. "Effects of Competition and Facilitation on Species Assemblage in Two Types of Tropical Cloud Forest," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-9, April.
    9. Filotas, Elise & Grant, Martin & Parrott, Lael & Rikvold, Per Arne, 2010. "The effect of positive interactions on community structure in a multi-species metacommunity model along an environmental gradient," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(6), pages 885-894.
    10. Amanda J Chunco & Todd Jobe & Karin S Pfennig, 2012. "Why Do Species Co-Occur? A Test of Alternative Hypotheses Describing Abiotic Differences in Sympatry versus Allopatry Using Spadefoot Toads," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Cheng Gao & Ling Xu & Liliam Montoya & Mary Madera & Joy Hollingsworth & Liang Chen & Elizabeth Purdom & Vasanth Singan & John Vogel & Robert B. Hutmacher & Jeffery A. Dahlberg & Devin Coleman-Derr & , 2022. "Co-occurrence networks reveal more complexity than community composition in resistance and resilience of microbial communities," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. David S Pescador & Francesco de Bello & Fernando Valladares & Adrián Escudero, 2015. "Plant Trait Variation along an Altitudinal Gradient in Mediterranean High Mountain Grasslands: Controlling the Species Turnover Effect," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    13. Yang, Xiqing & Zhang, Feng & Wang, Wanxiong, 2019. "Predation promotes cooperation in Prisoner’s dilemma games," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 514(C), pages 20-24.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0058518. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.