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Dryad

Data from: Competition and coexistence in plant communities: intraspecific competition is stronger than interspecific competition

Cite this dataset

Adler, Peter B. et al. (2019). Data from: Competition and coexistence in plant communities: intraspecific competition is stronger than interspecific competition [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.q5mg97b

Abstract

Theory predicts that intraspecific competition should be stronger than interspecific competition for any pair of stably coexisting species, yet previous literature reviews found little support for this pattern. We screened over 5400 publications and identified 39 studies that quantified phenomenological intraspecific and interspecific interactions in terrestrial plant communities. Of the 67% of species pairs in which both intra- and interspecific effects were negative (competition), intraspecific competition was, on average, four to five-fold stronger than interspecific competition. Of the remaining pairs, 93% featured intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation, a situation that stabilizes coexistence. The difference between intra- and interspecific effects tended to be larger in observational than experimental data sets, in field than greenhouse studies, and in studies that quantified population growth over the full life cycle rather than single fitness components. Our results imply that processes promoting stable coexistence at local scales are common and consequential across terrestrial plant communities.

Usage notes

Funding

National Science Foundation, Award: DEB-1353078 and DEB-1054040

Location

terrestrial plant communities worldwide