Effects of diversity and pattern on relative yields of four michigan first year fallow field plant species

1. A study was designed to investigate the effects of intra and inter-specific competition on the productivity of single and multi-species stands of plants normally dominant in first year old-field communities of mid-Michigan. The four species used were Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Panicum capillare and Setaria viridis. 2. Specifically, we tested (1) the relationship between diversity and productivity, (2) the effect of arrangement (pattern) of individuals within an array of old-field dominants on yield and (3) the expression of dominance and resultant allocation of yields within mixture arrays of different plant species. In direct contrast to many earlier studies, our experiments were completed in the field under natural conditions. 3. Mean yield of the highest yielding monoculture, Amaranthus, was greater than any of the yields of the mixture plots. 4. Changing the pattern within mixtures had no significant effect on the yields of the mixture plots. Distribution of biomass among the component species followed a geometric pattern similar to that predicted by the niche pre-emption hypothesis (Whittaker, 1965, 1969). Using yield as a criterion, dominance was clearly expressed in the mixture plots. Amaranthus contributed more than 50% of the yield in all of the mixture plots. 5. A relative competitive ability index (RCA) was developed to demonstrate more clearly the intra and interspecific relationships among the species in mixture plots and to "equalize" the inherent weight differential among species. Relative Competitive Ability, from highest to lowest, was Amaranthus, Chenopodium, Setaria and Panicum. 6. The paired species experiment demonstrated that the performance of species in multi-species arrays cannot be predicted from paired competition experiments. 7. In the diversity-yield experiment and the paired-species competitive ability experiment, dicotyledons were clearly superior to monocotyledons.