Facilitation vs. competition: divergent plant-plant interactions in tropical and temperate postglacial ecosystems

Facilitation vs. competition: divergent plant-plant interactions in tropical and temperate postglacial ecosystems | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 14 October 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Facilitation vs. competition: divergent plant-plant interactions in tropical and temperate postglacial ecosystems Authors : Lucie Bivaud 0009-0001-8738-4881 [email protected] , Anais Zimmer , Guillaume Papuga , Tristan Charles-Dominique , Ariel Lliully Aguilar , Rosa I. Meneses , Antoine Rabatel 0000-0002-5304-1055 , Jean Salcedo Aliaga , Sophie Vallée , Alvaro Soruco , and Fabien Anthelme Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176044547.71972098/v1 440 views 118 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Global glacier retreat is rapidly exposing vast terrains of bare ground, leading to the emergence of postglacial ecosystems. The success of this emergence will determine the future of a substantial fraction of alpine biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Plant-plant facilitation is a key ecological mechanism structuring alpine communities, yet its effectiveness across latitudes and postglacial ecosystems remains unclear. We compare the direction and intensity of plant-plant interactions between temperate and tropical postglacial terrains shortly after glacier retreat. We conducted a bi-continental field study at one temperate site (France) and two tropical sites (Bolivia, Peru), and quantified plant–plant interactions in recently deglaciated areas (0-30 years and 30-60 years since glacier retreat). At each site, we identified the most abundant species and estimated their effects on local plant communities using the Relative Interaction Index (RII) across 320 paired plots. We observed net facilitation in the tropical sites (RII = 0.12***) but net competition in the temperate site (RII = -0.10***). Across sites, interactions shifted significantly from facilitation to competition between 0-30 and 30-60 years since glacier retreat. Species canopy volume was a strong positive driver of facilitation, with the most effective facilitators being large life forms, such as erect shrubs and giant tussock grasses, which are present only in the tropics. In accordance with the stress-gradient hypothesis, the greater facilitation observed in tropical areas can be attributed to the higher stress that plants experience, particularly from extremely cold nighttime temperatures due to low climatic seasonality and the absence of snow. Tropical environments condition the development of larger life forms that are especially effective at facilitating other species. As organic matter accumulates over time, it reduces environmental stress, potentially explaining the shift from facilitation to competition in older deglaciated areas. Supplementary Material File (oik-12092-file002.docx) Download 10.44 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 14 October 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords plant-plant facilitation postglacial ecosystems relative interaction index (rii) stress-gradient hypothesis (sgh) tropical alpine Authors Affiliations Lucie Bivaud 0009-0001-8738-4881 [email protected] AMAP, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE View all articles by this author Anais Zimmer AMAP, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE View all articles by this author Guillaume Papuga AMAP, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE View all articles by this author Tristan Charles-Dominique AMAP, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE View all articles by this author Ariel Lliully Aguilar Universidad Mayor de San Andrés View all articles by this author Rosa I. Meneses Universidad Mayor de San Andrés View all articles by this author Antoine Rabatel 0000-0002-5304-1055 Universite Grenoble Alpes View all articles by this author Jean Salcedo Aliaga Museo de Historia Natural. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos View all articles by this author Sophie Vallée Conservatoire Botanique National Alpin (CBNA) View all articles by this author Alvaro Soruco Instituto de Investigaciones Geológicas y del Medio Ambiente. Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, View all articles by this author Fabien Anthelme AMAP, Univ Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 440 views 118 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Lucie Bivaud, Anais Zimmer, Guillaume Papuga, et al. Facilitation vs. competition: divergent plant-plant interactions in tropical and temperate postglacial ecosystems. Authorea . 14 October 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176044547.71972098/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); View Options View options PDF View PDF Figures Tables Media Share Share Share article link Copy Link Copied! Copying failed. 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