RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Positive interactions support the formation of complex spatial networks
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 118166
DO 10.1101/118166
A1 Gianalberto Losapio
A1 Marcelino de la Cruz
A1 Adrián Escudero
A1 Bernhard Schmid
A1 Christian Schöb
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/18/118166.abstract
AB Ecosystems are structured by networks of interactions among species, but this hypothesis has rarely been tested in plant communities. Indeed, the structure and functioning of plant interaction networks have remained elusive so far and the mechanisms underlying their origin and maintenance remain unknown. By developing a novel approach that integrates the ecology of plant interactions with network theory and using spatial pattern analysis, we show that plant communities are organised in spatially variable and complex networks. Specifically, we found that positive plant interactions promote the formation and the cohesiveness of large networks. At small spatial scale, where positive mutual interactions prevailed, the network was characterised by a large connected component. With increasing scale, when negative interactions took over, network structure became more hierarchical with many detached components. These findings shade new light on the complex networks of interactions occurring in plant communities.