Here are some of the notes from the brainstorm post progress reports today on facilitation in plant communities and desert landscapes.

1. Paired-interaction strength estimates on gradients is important.
All three scales must be considered – micro, meso, and macro-level interactions.

2. Foundation species can have niche expansion effects but this must be framed in fundamental versus realized niches, niche maps, and range dynamics at regional scales.

At least three innovations.

(a) increase robustness of micro-scale estimates within each landscape.
(b) shift from target to network sampling developing micro-climatic signature analyses for each subordinate species.
(c) transplant & amelioration experiments in subsequent season