Allelopathy | EPFL Graph Search

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Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial (positive allelopathy) or detrimental (negative allelopathy) effects on the target organisms and the community. Allelopathy is often used narrowly to describe chemically-mediated competition between plants; however, it is sometimes defined more broadly as chemically-mediated competition between any type of organisms. Allelochemicals are a subset of secondary metabolites, which are not directly required for metabolism (i.e. growth, development and reproduction) of the allelopathic organism. Allelopathic interactions are an important factor in determining species distribution and abundance within plant communities, and are also thought to be important in the success of many invasive plants. For specific examples, see black walnut (Juglans nigra), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Casuarina/Allocasuarina spp., and nutsedge. It can often be difficult in practice to distinguish allelopathy from resource competition. While the former is caused by the addition of a harmful chemical agent to the environment, the latter is caused by the removal of essential nutrients (or water). Often, both mechanisms can act simultaneously. Moreover, some allelochemicals may function by reducing nutrient availability. Further confounding the issue, the production of allelochemicals can itself be affected by environmental factors such as nutrient availability, temperature and pH. Today, most ecologists recognize the existence of allelopathy, however many particular cases remain controversial. The term allelopathy from the Greek-derived compounds allilon- (αλλήλων) and -pathy (πάθη) (meaning "mutual harm" or "suffering"), was first used in 1937 by the Austrian professor Hans Molisch in the book Der Einfluss einer Pflanze auf die andere - Allelopathie (The Effect of Plants on Each Other - Allelopathy) published in German.

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Related concepts (11)

Plant

Plants are eukaryotes, predominantly photosynthetic, that form the kingdom Plantae. Many are multicellular. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi. All current definitions exclude the fungi and some of the algae. By one definition, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin for "green plants") which consists of the green algae and the embryophytes or land plants. The latter include hornworts, liverworts, mosses, lycophytes, ferns, conifers and other gymnosperms, and flowering plants.

Allelopathy

Community (ecology)

In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, or life assemblage. The term community has a variety of uses. In its simplest form it refers to groups of organisms in a specific place or time, for example, "the fish community of Lake Ontario before industrialization".