Title | Fine-scale spatial organization of tallgrass prairie vegetation along a topographic gradient |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1995 |
Authors | Bartha, S, Collins, SL, Glenn, SM, Kertesz, M |
Journal | Folia Geobot.Phytotax, Praha |
Volume | 30 |
Pagination | 169 -184 |
Accession Number | KNZ00473 |
Keywords | diversity, Functional groups, Grassland community, information theory, Konza Prairie, Scaling, Spatial associations |
Abstract | Fine-scale spatial patterns of native tallgrass prairie vegetation were studied on Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA. Three sites, upland, slope, and lowland, were sampled in an ungrazed watershed. Presence of vascular plant species was recorded in two 25.6 m long transects of contiguous 5×5 cm micro-quadrats on each topographic position. Spatial patterns of species and functional groups were analyzed by information theory models ofJuhász-Nagy. Within-community variability of coexistence was expressed by the diversity and spatial dependence of local species combinations. Considerable diversity in the local coexistence of species was found on each site. Upland and hillside communities were richer and more diverse in species combinations than lowland. Spatial scale effected coexistence relationships. The maxima of information theory estimates varied between 15 and 30 cm. There was no trend in the variation of characteristic scales along the topographical gradient. Above 10 m, all sites tended to be homogeneous. |
DOI | 10.1007/BF02812096 |