Competition, resources, and vegetation during 10 years in native grassland

A 10-year experiment tested for variation in competition intensity over time in a natural grassland at the northern edge of the Great Plains. Growing-season precipitation varied fivefold during the study. All ecosystem-level variables varied significantly among years, and most covaried in expected ways. The covers of all common grasses possessing the C3 photosynthetic pathway varied significantly among years; in contrast, all common species with traits associated with drought tolerance (a C4 grass, a lichen, a spikemoss, and a subshrub) did not vary. Annual transplant experiments measured the competitive effects of neighbors on the growth of individuals of the native grass Bouteloua gracilis. A significant interaction between year and competition showed that competition intensity varied among years. The size of this effect, however, was small (eta2 = 0.074) relative to the size of the direct effect of competition (eta2 = 0.20) or the year in which the experiment was conducted (eta2 = 0.51). Further, competition intensity was not significantly related to any variable describing standing crop or resources, or species richness. Species richness was highest in years with high precipitation, standing crop, and individual growth, due to the recruitment of rare species that were absent from dry years. In summary, variation in competition intensity was statistically significant but had small effects relative to the direct effects of climate.