Research methods in ecologyClements, Frederic E. (Frederic Edward)
Science
Research methods in ecology
Clements, Frederic E. (Frederic Edward)
Plant ecology; Plant ecology -- Methodology
habitat forms of the same species as are found in _Galium boreale_,
_Gentiana acuta_, etc., and the latter the morphological constancy of
plants like _Chamaenerium_, which grow in very diverse habitats.
The vegetation form of the invading species is often of the greatest
importance in determining whether it will become established. The
vegetation form represents those modifications which, produced in the
original home by competition, i. e., the struggle for existence, are
primarily of value in securing and maintaining a foothold. These
comprise all structures by means of which the plant occupies a definite
space in the air, through which the necessary light and heat reach it,
and in the soil, from which it draws its food supply. These structures
are all organs of duration or of perennation, such as root, rootstalk,
bulb, tuber, woody stem, etc., which find their greatest development
among trees and shrubs, and their least among annual herbs. But while
the invaders are aided in securing possession by the proper vegetation
form, the occupation of the plant already in possession is increased by
the same means, and the outcome is then largely determined by other
factors. To avoid repetition, the bearing of occupation upon invasion
will be considered under succession.
_BARRIERS_
=272. Concept.= DeCandolle[34] seems to have been the first to use the
term barrier and to distinguish the various kinds, though Hedenberg[35]
clearly saw that stations of one kind were insurmountable obstacles to
plants belonging to a very different type. De Candolle pointed out that
the natural barriers to continuous invasion (“transport de proche en
proche”) are: (1) seas, which decrease invasion almost in inverse
proportion to their extent; (2) deserts; (3) mountain ranges, which are
less absolute on account of passes, valleys, etc.; (4) vegetation,
marshes being barriers to dry land plants, forests to those that fear
the shade, etc. Grisebach[36], in discussing the effect of barriers upon
the constitution of vegetation, laid down the fundamental rule that:
“The supreme law which serves as the basis of the permanent
establishment of natural floras is to be recognized in the barriers
which have hindered or completely prevented invasion.”
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