Spatiotemporal dynamics in mountain grasslands: Species autocorrelations in space and time

Permanent plots with a fine scale recording system were used to trace the spatiotemporal process within two mountain grasslands in the Krkono?e Mts., Czech Republic. The analysis used autocorrelation over increasing lags in space and/or time. Moran'sI was used to measure the autocorrelation. There was a lot of variation between species both in spatial and temporal correlograms. The spatiotemporal pattern of species correlated well with the growth form of the species and the degree of its clonality. Clonally-growing species tended to have high clumping at distances of a few cells, whereas rosette species often did not show any clumping. The type of clonal growth (compact vs. long spacers) is well corrlated, with the temporal correlogram (species mobility). There is a relation between low mobility and high clumping at low distances. Attempts to explain the mechanisms of species coexistence in these grasslands should take into account the particular structure of the fine-scale dynamics of these communities of predominantly clonal plants. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A02DO006 00007