This project will investigate a little-studied and potentially important factor in the development and maintenance of biological diversity in plant communities: the spatial arrangement of individual plants. The investigators will study how this factor may also control the productivity of communities and their invasibility by new species of plants introduced by humans. While many researchers have studied how altering the number and abundances of the species in an area affects invasion and biomass production, few have considered how the location of the individuals of each species affects these properties. Researchers will experimentally establish tallgrass prairie communities with contrasting spatial arrangements of individuals to determine the effects of initial species pattern on invasion and production of biomass, and test whether commonly reported effects of species number and abundance are instead attributable to spatial patterns. The project will test previously indistinguishable factors that affect invasion and biomass production in plant communities and shed new light on the effects of altering plant diversity in grasslands.
Broader impacts of this project include strengthening the infrastructure and workforce for science, training of students, public education, and potential applications to natural resource management. The project will be the inaugural experiment for the University of North Dakota (UND) Biology Experimental Field Station and support UND's research and education focus in grassland ecology. The project will train graduate and undergraduate students and findings from the study will inform grassland restoration practices throughout the tallgrass prairie region. Laboratory personnel will also participate in outreach projects with the Grand Forks County Prairie Partners, a group dedicated to preserving and promoting citizen understanding of the tallgrass prairie in the northern Great Plains.
