Neighbour relationships in grass–legume communities. IV. Fine scale biotic differentiation

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Abstract
Ramets of Medicago sativa L., M. Iupulina L., and Trifolium repens L. were sampled from 10-year-old fields of Bromus inermis Leyss., Phleum pratense L., and Dactylis glomerata L. The ramets were multiplied and transplanted into artificial swards in all combinations of legumes and site of origin. Differences in "performance" (in terms of dry weights and number of survivors) were shown. The most striking effect was that the number of survivors of T. repens and M. sativa (and dry weight of T. repens) was greatest when the species was transplanted back into swards of the grass species from which they had been sampled. This trend is not applicable to dry weights of M. sativa, but an alternative trend is clearly demonstrated.In a second experiment, ramets of M. sativa were sampled from 1-, 3-, and 10-year-old fields of B. inermis, P. pratense, and D. glomerata and treated as above. The most striking effect is that the performance monitored in experiment 1 may be seen developing through the 1- and 3-year-old stages, demonstrating that the microcoevolutionary processes operating within a community are rapid events.