ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 5929
Poster No. = 1448


BELOWGROUND TERRITORIALITY IN PLANTS


H. Jochen Schenk and, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Santa Barbara, USA


Spatially segregated root systems have been documented for several plant species and communities at various spatial scales. Root segregation may be caused by architectural constraints, local proliferation, or plastic responses to competition for resources, but there is also evidence for a contribution of allelochemicals and non-toxic signals to active root segregation in some species. Root segregation appears to provide competitive advantages to some plants, especially in water-limited environments. Defense and exclusive use of space is the definition for territoriality in animals, and organisms exhibiting such behavior are thought to avoid the costs and uncertainties of scramble competition. Active root segregation and the defense of space by plants indicates that some plants also may be territorial. Potential costs and benefits of different territorial strategies are explored using a grid-based model of competing root systems.


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