INVESTIGADORES
AIZEN Marcelo Adrian
artículos
Título:
Facilitation of vascular plants by cushion mosses in high-Andean communities
Autor/es:
GAVINI, SABRINA S.; SUÁREZ, GUILLERMO M.; EZCURRA, CECILIA; AIZEN, MARCELO A.
Revista:
Alpine Botany
Editorial:
Springer
Referencias:
Año: 2019 vol. 129 p. 137 - 148
ISSN:
1664-2201
Resumen:
Mosses are a dominant ground cover in a wide array of ecosystems, especially in those developing under cold-stressedenvironments such as arctic and alpine ice-melting glacial forelands. Consequently, mosses may influence the performanceand distribution of other plants. Here, we assessed the nature of interactions between vascular plants and cushion-formingmosses in three alpine communities in the northern Patagonian Andes. We recorded species richness, plant abundance andcover of vascular plants within and outside moss cushions, measuring also patch area and moss layer depth. To determinethe effect of mosses on vascular plant assemblages, we calculated the relative interaction index (RII) in terms of richness,abundance and cover of all vascular plants, and of individual species. Moss-cushion patches showed higher species richness,plant abundance and cover in comparison with bare ground areas. Overall, the diversity of vascular plants increasedwith both moss-cushion area and layer depth. Species-specific RII values revealed that the effects of moss cushions onneighboring vascular plants were predominantly positive for all three plant communities surveyed. These results highlightthe role of mosses as nurse plants in alpine ice-melting glacial forelands and, thus, as ecosystem engineers that can be keyin maintaining vascular plant diversity.