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Classifying clonal growth forms based on vegetative mobility and ramet longevity: a whole community analysis

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Abstract

We measured rhizome branching, clonal mobility, and ramet longevity of 98 meadow plant species. A cluster analysis applied to this dataset revealed nine clonal growth types that differ mainly by the ramet lifespan and vegetative mobility. Then we compared the abundance of these groups of clonal species between the three following plant communities: (1) open, (2) restored and (3) overgrown wooded meadows in the Laelatu-Nehatu-Puhtu Nature Reserve, Estonia. This is the first study where the quantitative values of belowground clonal traits have been measured for all species of a species-rich community. We show that species with annual ramets and with a low vegetative mobility were most abundant in open grasslands. The relative abundance of perennial species with annual ramets was positively correlated with shoot density and species diversity, indicating that high ramet turnover rates combined with a high genet longevity can positively affect species coexistence in meadow communities. Hence, this study provides evidence for the fact that the average values of clonal life-history parameters differ between these communities. Herb communities under forest canopy consist, in average, of species with ramets that live longer and are clonally more mobile than in the communities of open sites.

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Author notes

  1. Anneli Tamm

    Present address: Department of Short Rotation Forestry, SLU, Box 7016, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Institute of Zoology and Botany, Estonian Agricultural University, Riià 181, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Anneli Tamm

  2. Department of Botany, Institute of Zoology and Botany, Estonian Agricultural University, Riià 181, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Kalevi Kull & Marek Sammul

  3. Institute of Botany and Ecology, University of Tartu, Lai 40, 51005, Tartu, Estonia

    Marek Sammul

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  1. Anneli Tamm
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  2. Kalevi Kull
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  3. Marek Sammul
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Tamm, A., Kull, K. & Sammul, M. Classifying clonal growth forms based on vegetative mobility and ramet longevity: a whole community analysis. Evolutionary Ecology 15, 383–401 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016093116926

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