Wikipedia hasn't really been useful. :/ Can someone explain this to me in plain English?
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The resource ratio explains the coexistence of competing plant species. This is based on the species having differing abilities to compete for pairs of shared resources. Each species differ in their use of the resource and in their impact on the shared resource. That there are enough different resources for plants to differentiate and specialize in niches.
It explains how two plant species interact to compete for resources in an ecosystem.
There is a cycle of balance between resource uptake by growth and resource release by mortality:
Even plants forage by growing roots up gradients towards pockets of useful nutrients. The resource is taken up by the plant and it decreases in the environment.
The plant dies recycling the nutrient to the environment.
Plants grow towards the nutrients to repeat the cycle.
When new plant = dying plants the population is stable.
When two species compete for the same resource the species that can continue growing with the least resources will eventually take over the space. (As long as other factors do not limit its growth)
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kmoloney/…
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cach…
It explains how two plant species interact to compete for resources in an ecosystem.
There is a cycle of balance between resource uptake by growth and resource release by mortality:
Even plants forage by growing roots up gradients towards pockets of useful nutrients. The resource is taken up by the plant and it decreases in the environment.
The plant dies recycling the nutrient to the environment.
Plants grow towards the nutrients to repeat the cycle.
When new plant = dying plants the population is stable.
When two species compete for the same resource the species that can continue growing with the least resources will eventually take over the space. (As long as other factors do not limit its growth)
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~kmoloney/…
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cach…