The objective of this experiment is to determine whether there is inter or intraspecific competition among plants. The study is conducted in Field E. Two treatments are tested:
1 (=A). Unmanipulated controls.
2 (=B). Plots are thinned by removing half of the existing
plants.
Thinning was accomplished by choosing a pair of plants and removing the taller plant. For the next pair the shorter plant is removed. Thirty plots were laid out, with a numbered flag at the center of each one of them. Each plot was surrounded by 3 flags out a distance (radius) of 20cm (each plot is a circle 40cm in diameter). Each plot was centered on numerous individuals of Hedeoma hispida, an annual mint. The whole patch of Hedeoma was in a very low biomass, but undisturbed, area of field E (its soils are probably poor in Nitrogen). Plants in the plot were harvested by pooling them on June 24, 1987. For Hedeoma hispida, roots and shoots were separated. The experiment will be analyzed by comparing mass/plant for the thinned vs. unthinned treatments.