Competition and Spacing in Plant Communities: Differential Mortality of White Pine (Pinus strobus L.) in a New England Woodlot

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Abstract
A relatively pure, uneven-aged stand of white pine (P. strobus L.) was studied to examine the relationship between differential mortality and the subsequent spatial pattern. Intraspecific competition in white pine occurs both within and between members of the canopy and understory. The effect of this competition is that almost all mortality in the stand is occurring in the understory pines. In addition, there is a pattern to the mortality of understory members competing with pines in the canopy. Depending upon the distances from a member of the canopy which understory pines establish, there is an upper limit to their size beyond which these individuals cannot survive. This pattern of mortality prevents entry of understory pines into the canopy and leads to the spatial pattern observed in the population, aggregated among members of the understory and random among members of the canopy. The patterns of differential mortality and spacing observed are interpreted with respect to Pielou''s (1960) model. Finally, the failure to find a regular spatial pattern in this study and the relative rarity of such patterns are discussed.

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