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Environmental distribution of four Carex species (Cyperaceae) in an old-growth forest¹

³ Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 avenue Dr. Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1; and ⁴ Department of Plant Science, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec, Canada H9X 3V9

We conducted an in-depth characterization of the range of micro-environments (1 m) in which four Carex species (C. backii, C. communis, C. plantaginea, and C. platyphylla) grow in the understory of an old-growth, deciduous forest in southern Québec, Canada. All four species occurred in significantly different micro-environments. Carex plantaginea was found at the wet end of a moisture gradient, in soils with high nitrate availability. Carex backii and C. platyphylla were found at the dry end of the moisture gradient, with C. backii occupying soils with higher phosphorus availability than C. platyphylla. Carex communis, the only ant-dispersed species studied, was found in the broadest range of environmental conditions. Our results suggest that environmental heterogeneity and interspecific microhabitat preferences are important for the maintenance of local species diversity in the forest understory, not only for common species as demonstrated in previous studies, but for infrequent species, and those within a functional group (upland Carex species). However, there was some evidence that the distributions of C. backii and C. communis were not in equilibrium with current environmental conditions, indicating that historical factors, such as dispersal and colonization events, may also have important effects on the distributions of these species and the maintenance of species diversity in old-growth forest.

Key Words: Carex • Cyperaceae • environmental heterogeneity • forest herbs • habitat niche • sedges • species diversity • understory herbs

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Vellend, M. J. Lechowicz, and M. J. Waterway Germination and establishment of forest sedges (Carex, Cyperaceae): tests for home-site advantage and effects of leaf litter Am. J. Botany, October 1, 2000; 87(10): 1517 - 1525. [Abstract] [Full Text]