Centrifugal Organization in Forests

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Abstract
To date we have three process-oriented models of plant community composition: the plant strategy model of Grime, the regeneration niche/gap dynamics model of Grubb and Pickett and White, and the resource ratio hypothesis of Tilman. A fourth complementary model, the centrifugal organization model is based upon general empirical patterns in the distribution of species and vegetation types along gradients caused by different combinations of environmental constraints. In this paper we explore whether this model, developed in temperate zone wetlands, can be generalized to terrestrial vegetation with woody species. We find that the mechanism of competitive hierarchies for light as a limiting resource is widely-accepted in forestry. Current descriptions of forest distributions along biomass gradients are also consistent with the patterns of the centrifugal organization model. We explore some apparent differences between forests and herbaceous wetlands, particularly the possibility that small scale gap dynamics are more important in productive forests than in productive wetlands.
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