Shade herbs persist only in small gaps unless sheltered by taller plants

Evidence

For these plants, a gap may provide more amenable moisture, temperature, and nutrient flux than a canopied environment. However, the increased summer light intensity, especially in multiple tree gaps, may be detrimental to these plants, causing death or lowering total seasonal assimilation. We predict that these species will be absent from all but smaller gaps unless they are sheltered by taller herbs or woody plants. — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1463

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Herb response to gaps fails through five distinct limiting constraints — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1487; Sweetgrass depends on clonal rhizome spread, leaving it unable to recolonize fragmented land. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 960