Moss Transplant Experiment 2023

The reciprocal transplant project aims identify the factors that explain long-term relationships between environmental conditions and interactions between plants, mosses, lichens, and endophytes. Organisms were collected and co-located with or without interacting species across a stratified gradient in microclimate. Researchers then evaluated species’ responses to microclimate as a function of interspecific interactions, testing hypotheses about differences between the fundamental niche (i.e., species are primarily driven by abiotic conditions) versus the realized niche (i.e., responses to abiotic conditions are strongly mediated by biotic interactions, particularly competition). In the moss experiment, different species of moss from high, mid, and low elevation were transplanted across the elevation gradient with or without a competing moss species. Researchers used a grid to transplant similarly sized mats of moss, then returned to measure the growth or shrinkage of the moss mat. Microclimate data, such as understory temperature and relative humidity are measured in each research plots.