Abstract
We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions. Two-year-old beech seedlings were grown during two growing seasons in 160-l containers in bare soil or with a mixture of five grass species widely represented in semi-natural meadows of central France. At the end of the second growing season, beech seedlings in the presence of grass showed significant reductions in diameter and height growth, annual shoot elongation, and stem, root and leaf biomass, but an increase in root to shoot biomass ratio. Grasses greatly reduced soil water availability, which was positively correlated with daily seedling diameter increment. Beech seedlings seemed to respond to water deficit by anticipating stomatal closure. There was evidence of competition for nitrogen (N) by grasses, but its effect on seedling development could not be separated from that of competition for water. By labeling the plants with 15N, we showed that beech seedlings absorbed little N when grasses were present, whereas grasses took up more than 97% of the total N absorbed in the container. We conclude that, even if beech seedlings display morphological and physiological adaptation to below ground competition, their development in full-light conditions may be strongly restricted by competition from grass species.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Grass presence reduced diameter and height growth and annual shoot elongation of beech seedlings.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvatica
Fagus sylvaticae0 - Treatment
- presence of grasse1
- Outcome
- diameter and height growth, annual shoot elongatione1
- Direction
- reductionse1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e1“At the end of the second growing season, beech seedlings in the presence of grass showed significant reductions in diameter and height growth, annual shoot elongation, and stem, root and leaf biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
Grass presence reduced stem, root and leaf biomass of beech seedlings.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- presence of grasse1
- Outcome
- stem, root and leaf biomasse1
- Direction
- reductionse1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e1“At the end of the second growing season, beech seedlings in the presence of grass showed significant reductions in diameter and height growth, annual shoot elongation, and stem, root and leaf biomass”
Claim · model-written summary
Grass presence increased the root to shoot biomass ratio of beech seedlings.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- presence of grasse1
- Outcome
- root to shoot biomass ratioe2
- Direction
- increasee2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e1“beech seedlings in the presence of grass”
e2“but an increase in root to shoot biomass ratio”
Claim · model-written summary
Grasses reduced soil water availability.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- Grassese3
- Outcome
- soil water availabilitye3
- Direction
- reducede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e3“Grasses greatly reduced soil water availability, which was positively correlated with daily seedling diameter increment”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil water availability was positively correlated with daily seedling diameter increment of beech seedlings in full light.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Outcome
- daily seedling diameter incremente3
- Direction
- positively correlatede3
- Qualifier
- soil water availabilitye3
- Setting
- full-light conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e3“Grasses greatly reduced soil water availability, which was positively correlated with daily seedling diameter increment”
Claim · model-written summary
Beech seedlings seem to anticipate water deficit by closing stomata early.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Outcome
- anticipating stomatal closuree4
- Qualifier
- water deficite4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e4“Beech seedlings seemed to respond to water deficit by anticipating stomatal closure”
Claim · model-written summary
There was evidence of competition for nitrogen by grasses, which could not be separated from competition for water.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- grassese5
- Outcome
- competition for nitrogene5
- Qualifier
- could not be separated from that of competition for watere5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e5“There was evidence of competition for nitrogen (N) by grasses, but its effect on seedling development could not be separated from that of competition for water”
Claim · model-written summary
Beech seedlings absorbed little nitrogen when grasses were present.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- grasses were presente6
- Outcome
- absorbed little Ne6
- Direction
- littlee6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e6“By labeling the plants with 15N, we showed that beech seedlings absorbed little N when grasses were present”
Claim · model-written summary
Grasses took up more than 97% of the total nitrogen absorbed in the container.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Interactor
- grassese6other
- Outcome
- total N absorbed in the containere6
- Value
- more than 97%e6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e6“whereas grasses took up more than 97% of the total N absorbed in the container”
Claim · model-written summary
Grass competition may strongly restrict the development of beech seedlings in full-light conditions.
- Taxon
- Fagus sylvaticaFagus sylvaticae0
- Treatment
- competition from grass speciese7
- Outcome
- developmente7
- Direction
- restrictede7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We examined morphological and physiological responses of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seedlings to grass-induced below ground competition in full-light conditions”
e7“their development in full-light conditions may be strongly restricted by competition from grass species”
The same questions in other papers
competition · growth · Fagus sylvatica (European beech)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- negative
- no effect
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.