Article,
The population dynamics of plants
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 330 (1257): 125--140 (November 1990)
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1990.0187
Abstract
Long-term studies of plant populations are reviewed, and their dynamics summarize
Many short-lived plants have ephemeral, pulsed dynamics lasting only a sing
recruitment determined almost entirely by germination biology and by the frequen
disturbance. Such populations are not amenable to traditional population models. At
some long-lived plants have such protracted tenancy of their microsites that it is im
what pattern of dynamics (if any) their populations exhibit. A relatively small num
what we would traditionally regard as population dynamics at a given point in
predictable trajectories that can be modelled by N,t+ =f(Nt)). A major difficulty
plant dynamics is that the majority of species are successional; their recruitment de
through senescence or disturbance, of the dominant plants. Where we do have
generations, it is clear that: (i) the populations are regulated by density depend
contrast to some animal populations, numbers appear to vary less from year to year
density is higher, and less from place to place in years when mean density is high t
low; (iii) few, if any, plant populations show persistent cyclic or chaotic dynam
several robust generalizations that stem from the immobility and phenotypic plasti
of constant yield; self-thinning rules, etc.). T'hese generalizations are analysed in th
theoretical models of plant dynamics, and the patterns observed in long-term studi
similar data from animal populations. Two important shortcomings of traditional pl
emphasized; (i) the dearth of simple manipulative experiments on such issues as seed
the tendency to locate study plots around existing mature individuals (the omission
may introduce serious bias into the estimation of plant recruitment rates).
