Fine-scale co-ocurrence patterns in grasslands reflect competition for space rather than broad plant strategies

Estimating the sign and strength of interactions among plants is central to understand the dynamics and functioning of communities, but is challenging to do for species-rich communities. Instead, spatial relationships between plants (clustering or spatial segregation) are sometimes used as a surrogate for the net effect of interactions ocurring between plants (positive or negative, respectively). However, this approach remains poorly tested outside of arid and alpine ecosystems, the ecological settings it originated from.

In experimental rangelands, we explored how management intensification, sheep exclusion and a natural soil depth gradient control the level of plant spatial segregation, or ‘negative co-occurrence’, usually considered as a measurement of competition intensity. We link these spatial patterns to classical broad plant strategies defined by 11 locally measured functional traits, and to the realized vegetation height and cover.

Plant segregation was highest when both grazing and fertilization were applied. Unexpectedly, general plant strategies (competitive, and acquisitive strategies) had little relationship with plant spatial patterns. Instead, spatial constraints increased segregation wherever cover was high and free bare ground was limited, or where plant growth is restricted by grazing to a few centimeters above ground.

These results show that fine-scale spatial patterns appear to capture competition for space, rather than for light or resources, as suggested by broad plant strategies. This may explain discrepancies in conclusions drawn from spatial patterns in grasslands, and clarifies the way towards a mechanistic understanding of spatial patterns.

Synthesis . The fine scale spatial organization of plant communities has been thought to reflect the intensity of competition among plants, but this approach has struggled to provide consistent results in grasslands. We show here that spatial patterns reflect competition for space rather than broad plant strategies captured by plant functional traits, helping us read observed plant spatial patterns to map interactions among plants in the field.