@article{fdi:010070882,
  title = {{F}ine nurse variations explain discrepancies in the stress-interaction relationship in alpine regions},
  author = {{A}nthelme, {F}abien and {M}eneses, {R}. {I}. and {V}alero, {N}. {N}. {H}. and {P}ozo, {P}. and {D}angles, {O}livier},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{D}espite a large consensus on increasing facilitation among plants with increasing stress in alpine regions, a number of different outcomes of interaction have been observed, which impedes the generalisation of the 'stress-gradient hypothesis' ({SGH}). {W}ith the aim to reconcile the different viewpoints on the stress-interaction relationship in alpine environments we hypothesized that fine nurse variations within a single life form (cushion) may explain this pattern variability. {T}o test this hypothesis, we compared the magnitude of the stress-interaction relationship in a single study area with that observed in existing studies involving cushions, worldwide. {W}e characterized the nurse effects of cushions on the whole plant community at inter-specific, intra-specific and intra-individual levels along a stress gradient in the dry, alpine tropics of {B}olivia (4400 m, 4700 m and 4900 m a.s.l). {U}sing a relative index of interaction ({RII}) we included our data in a meta-analysis on the nurse effects of cushions along alpine gradients, worldwide. {A}t inter-specific level, the loose cushion {P}ycnophyllum was a better nurse than the compact {A}zorella compacta. {H}owever, at intra-individual level facilitation was higher at the periphery than at the centre of cushions, exceeding in magnitude the variation observed at inter-specific level. {T}his pattern was associated with higher minimum temperature and lower mortality at the periphery of cushions. {T}he net effects of cushions on plant communities became more positive at higher elevation, corroborating the {SGH}. {W}ithin our single site in {B}olivia, fine morphological nurse variations captured a similar variability in the stress-interaction relationship as that observed in a subset of studies on cushions on a worldwide scale. {T}his suggests that fine variations in nurse traits, in general those not considered in protocols dealing with facilitation or in restoration/conservation management plans, explain in part the current discrepancies among {SGH} studies in alpine regions.},
  keywords = {{BOLIVIE} ; {ANDES} ; {CORDILLERE} ; {ZONE} {TROPICALE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{O}ikos},
  volume = {126},
  numero = {8},
  pages = {1173--1183},
  ISSN = {0030-1299},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1111/oik.04248},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070882},
}