Size Hierarchy and Stability in Competitive Plant populations

摘要

A neighbourhood-based competition model for plant individuals is studied to eval- uate how a hierarchical structure related to size may emerge in plant communities. It is shown by numerical simulations and linear stability analysis that many stable States exist in the hierarchical structure when both the total number of individuals And the degree of asymmetry of competition are high. When the hierarchical struc- Tures are self-organized by the dynamic instability of the homogeneous state due To non-linearity of competition, it is proved that these states are always locally sta- Ble.