Spatial clustering reveals the impact of higher-order interactions in a diverse annual plant community

Spatial patterns are widespread in ecology, but their effects on species interactions remain unresolved, especially in diverse communities. In principle, the degree of spatial clustering could alter the concentration of higher-order interactions, which occur when one (or more) species modifies competition between two others. When species are well mixed, heterospecific neighbors have ample opportunity to modify a competitor’s interactions with other species. In contrast, species clustering can reduce the concentration of interspecific higher-order interactions. In a field experiment with annual grassland plants in California, we manipulated the spatial arrangement — but not the number or identity — of two competitors and measured how they jointly affected a focal individual. We found that focal plants produced more seeds when their competitors were clustered than when they were mixed. These results suggest that interspecific higher-order interactions generally had a stronger competitive (or weaker facilitative) effect than intraspecific ones. However, the effect of clustering varied across species. Larger differences in focal fecundity were correlated with competitors that had greater differences in size and/or functional traits between the spatial arrangements. Additionally, a competitive hierarchy among our study species predicted the effects of clustered versus mixed competitors on focal seed production. Altogether, our work suggests that the spatial arrangement of competitors changes the realized strength of competition in diverse plant communities by modifying the concentration of higher-order interactions. Given the extensive variation in spatial aggregation in plant communities, this mechanism is likely to be a powerful but underappreciated force shaping competition in nature.