| It has been argued that if the cost of investment in cold resistance mechanisms detracts significantly from growth rates, then height growth tradeoffs should control species sorting on latitudinal temperature gradients. Applying the same logic to altitudinal temperature gradients, it can be predicted that species' upper altitudinal limits will be fixed by their degree of cold resistance, whereas the lower altitudinal limits of species growing higher up will be set by competition from faster-growing thermophilous species. We tested this prediction for three Nothofagus species on an altitudinal gradient (1,100 - 1,700 m) near Termas de Chillán, on the lower western slopes of the Andean Cordillera. We used retrospective methods to measure height increment... |
