Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Biology
Escape From Competition: Neighbors Reduce Centaurea Stoebe Performance At Home But Not Away, Ragan Callaway, Lauren Waller, Alecu Diaconu, Robert Pal, Alexandra Collins, Heinz Mueller-Schaerer, John Maron
Escape From Competition: Neighbors Reduce Centaurea Stoebe Performance At Home But Not Away, Ragan Callaway, Lauren Waller, Alecu Diaconu, Robert Pal, Alexandra Collins, Heinz Mueller-Schaerer, John Maron
Biological Sciences
The greater abundance of some exotic plants in their nonnative ranges might be explained in part by biogeographic differences in the strength of competition, but these competitive effects have not been experimentally examined in the field. We compared the effects of neighbors on the growth and reproduction of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) in Europe, where it is native, and in Montana, where it is invasive. There were strong negative competitive effects of neighboring vegetation on C. stoebe growth and reproduction in Europe. In contrast, identical experiments in Montana resulted in insignificant impacts on C. stoebe. Although the mechanisms that produce …