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What did Grime argue about plants living in high stress and high disturbance environments?

User Jimy
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Final answer:

Grime proposed that alien invasive plants might be favored in high stress and high disturbance environments due to increased opportunities for colonization and resource availability, coupled with reduced competition from native species affected adversely by such disturbances.

Step-by-step explanation:

Grime's argument about plants living in high stress and high disturbance environments is that such conditions may benefit alien invasive plants. Specifically, changes in disturbance regimes and increased frequency of extreme climatic events can result in increased propagule input and colonization opportunities, as well as increased resource availability that favors fast-growing species. Moreover, these conditions could lead to reduced competition due to mortality of individuals and lower biomass.

These dynamics suggest that climate change, by altering disturbance frequencies and introducing extreme weather events, could impact plant demographic processes significantly. Such changes might advantage invasive plants over native species, as they are often more capable of exploiting these new conditions. The shift in plant communities and biodiversity can have further implications on ecosystem services and human well-being.