Study finds big isn't better for plants

KINGSTON, Ontario, July 16 (UPI) -- Researchers at Canada's Queen's University say they have discovered that, in the plant world, big is not necessarily better.

"Until now most of the thinking has suggested that to be a good competitor in the forest, you have to be a big plant," Professor Lonnie Aarssen, who led the study, said. "But our research shows it's virtually the other way around."

The researchers focused on the largest individual plants, or "host plants' of 16 woody species growing in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia. The team calculated the number and variety of plants neighboring each large host tree and then randomly selected plots without host trees, also calculating the plant species in those areas.

The research showed the massive trees have no effect on the number of species with which they coexist.

Aarssen said larger species generate physical space niches under their canopies where smaller species thrive. Smaller plants are also much more effective than large trees at utilizing available resources, producing seeds at a much younger age and higher rate than their bigger counterparts.

"A growing body of literature is calling for re-evaluation of traditional views on the role of plant size in affecting competitive ability, community assembly and species coexistence," Aarssen added.

The study appeared recently in the Journal of Plant Ecology.