Growth and competition of 14 herb species were investigated in the experimental microcoenosiums in laboratory under the following environmental factors and treatment levels: high and low fertility, clipping and un-cli...Growth and competition of 14 herb species were investigated in the experimental microcoenosiums in laboratory under the following environmental factors and treatment levels: high and low fertility, clipping and un-clipping, and with and without microbial infusion. The most intense competition and the biggest difference in biomass among the species were detected in the high fertility microcoenosiums subjected to no clipping disturbance. Clippings or low fertility reduced the growth of the competitors and resulted in more even biomass distribution among the species. Successive clippings reduced the total accumulative biomass of the microcoenosiums. Microbial infusion significantly increased the growth of legume species Lotus corniculatus L. and Trifolium pratense L. The growth of Alopecurus pratensis L. was also raised by microbial infusion, whereas Dactylis glomerata L. had more biomass in without-microbial-infusion microcoenosiums than in microbial infusion ones. Most of the 14 species were not obviously affected. The positive effect of microbial infusion was more marked in the low fertility microcoenosiums.展开更多
This paper, based on the investigation of the statistics in the years of 1980-2005, using Shift-Share Method model, studies systematically the relation between the evolution of industrial structure and regional econom...This paper, based on the investigation of the statistics in the years of 1980-2005, using Shift-Share Method model, studies systematically the relation between the evolution of industrial structure and regional economic growth in five economic regions in He'nan to offer the foundation of policy for optimizing the industrial structure and promoting regional economic development in phase, and thereby comes to the conclusions: (1) the industrial structure level of He'nan, in comparison with the evolution of the industrial structure across the country, remains low, but yet the evolutional tendency of industrial structure in He'nan complies with the Clark taw of the industrial structure evolution; (2) the spatial difference of He'nan industrial structure evolution is comparatively large, (3) the evolution of industrial structure in He nan that influences economic growth can be categorized into three types: in eastern and southern regions, the shift-share of the industrial structure is negative, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is negative, in western and central regions, the shift.share of the industrial structure is positive, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is positive; in northern regions; the shift-share of the industrial structure is positive, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is negative: (4) the evolution of industriai structure influences greatly the development of the regional economy of He nan As the results of the researches shown, it can innovation of He'nan tra:ditional industry with high-tech the vast development of the tertiary industry, the expansion of He'nan overall level o industrial structure, the growth of deep-processing manufacturing of agricultural products, and the increase of He'nan agricultural products subsidiary value Will be the strategic choices of the rearrangement of He'nan industrial structure.展开更多
Objective To investigate the optimal dosage of pirfenidone for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in Wistar rats, and the alteration of expressions of transforming growth factor beta-1 ( TGF-β1...Objective To investigate the optimal dosage of pirfenidone for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in Wistar rats, and the alteration of expressions of transforming growth factor beta-1 ( TGF-β1 ), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 ( TIMP-1 ), and matrix metalloproteinase-13 ( MMP-13 ) in lung tissue. Methods Male Wistar rats were endotracheally instilled with bleomycin or normal saline. Pirfenidone (25-800 mg · kg^-l · d^-1 ), dexamethasone (3 mg/kg), or 1% carboxymethylcellulose sodium were given daily by feed 2 days before instillation of bleomycin. Groups T7 and T14 were fed pirfenidone 50 mg · kg^-1 · d^-1 at 7 days or 14 daYs after bleomycin instillation. Lungs were harvested at 28 days after bleomycin instillation. Patholological changes in luffg tissues were evaluated with HE staining. Lung collagen was stained by sirius red and measured by content of hydroxypro- line. Expression of proteins of TGF-β1 TIMP-1, and MMP-13 were detected by Western blotting. Results At doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg· kg^- 1 · d ^- 1, pirfenidone had significant anti-fibrotic effects for bleomy- cin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis, and these effects were most significantly attenuated at the dosage of 50 mg · kg^-1 ·d^ -1( HE: P 〈 0. 01, P 〈 0.01, and P = 0.064; sirius red: P 〈0.05, P 〈 0.01, and P 〈 0.05 ; hydroxyproline: P = 0.595, P 〈 0.01, and P = 0.976). Pirfenidone at a dosage of 50 mg · kg^- l · d^-1 inhibited protein expression of TGF-131 and TIMP-1 in lung tissue in the early phase (0.79 and 0.75 times of control group), but had no effect on ex- nr^eelnn nf MMP-13. Conclusion Low dose pirfenidone, especially at dosage of 50 mg · kg^-1 · d^-1, has significant anti-fibrotic effects on bleomycin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis. Pirfenidone partially inhibits the enhancement of the expression of TGF-131 and TIMP-β1 in lung tissue.展开更多
We propose two irreversible aggregation growth models of aggregates of two distinct species (.4 and B) to study the interactions between virus aggregates and medicine efficacy aggregates in the virus-medicine cooper...We propose two irreversible aggregation growth models of aggregates of two distinct species (.4 and B) to study the interactions between virus aggregates and medicine efficacy aggregates in the virus-medicine cooperative evolution system. The A-species aggregates evolve driven by self monomer birth and B-species aggregate-catalyzed monomer death in model I and by self birth, catalyzed death, and self monomer exchange reactions in model II, while the catalyst B-species aggregates are assumed to be injected into the system sustainedly or at a periodic time-dependent rate. The kinetic behaviors of the A-species aggregates are investigated by the rate equation approach based on the mean-field theory with the self birth rate kernel IA(k) = Ik, catalyzed death rate kernel JAB(k) = Jk and self exchange rate kernel KA (k, l) = Kkl. The kinetic behaviors of the A-species aggregates are mainly dominated by the competition between the two effects of the self birth (with the effective rate I) and the catalyzed death (with the effective rate JB0), while the effects of the self exchanges of the A-species aggregates which appear in an effective rate KAo play important roles in the cases of I 〉 JBo and I = JBo. The evolution behaviors of the total mass M1^A(t) and the total aggregate number MA(t) are obtained, and the aggregate size distribution ak(t) of species A is found to approach a generalized scaling form in the case of I ≥ JBo and a special modified scaling form in the case of I 〈 JB0. The periodical evolution of the B-monomers concentration plays an exponential form of the periodic modulation.展开更多
This article is based on growth, financial multidimensional perspective of redundancy and product market competition, focus on growth as a key variable, to explore the growth of financial redundancy and product market...This article is based on growth, financial multidimensional perspective of redundancy and product market competition, focus on growth as a key variable, to explore the growth of financial redundancy and product market competition. The data of 326 real estate companies were selected for empirical analysis. The research finds that the financial redundancy promotes competition in the product market, and the relationship between the growth of the enterprise growth and the competition between the financial redundancy and the competition of the product market.展开更多
With the Pearson Correlation Coefficient measurement method, this paper studies the correlation between the various elements influencing the financial competitiveness of the fast fashion enterprieses and the long-term...With the Pearson Correlation Coefficient measurement method, this paper studies the correlation between the various elements influencing the financial competitiveness of the fast fashion enterprieses and the long-term financial stability, which shows that the financial resilience has the biggest correlation with the long-term financial stability, which is followed in sequence by financial management capacity, financial resources capacity, financial performance capacity, and financial activity capacity. This is due to the fact that such factors as financial solvency, financial operations, profitability, growth capacity and the ability to generate cash exert effect upon the long-term stability of the financial competitiveness.展开更多
It is an emerging realistic problem on how to promote a high level of technology in the coal industry, find new upgrading powers and create new competitive advantages, which are also the core problems to efficient tra...It is an emerging realistic problem on how to promote a high level of technology in the coal industry, find new upgrading powers and create new competitive advantages, which are also the core problems to efficient transformation pattern of economic growth for coal industry in the ''twelfth five-year'' period, involving the key to China's energy supply and energy security. Through field surveys and inductive analyses, analyzing of the content of upgrading the coal industry as an entry point, this paper analyzes the sustainable development mechanisms for the coal industry from the aspects of work force, power, methods, goals, and so on; and puts forward corresponding developmental modes according to the mechanisms which can improve resource recovery and mineral resources utilization rates by putting them into practice.展开更多
The effect of exotic plants on Bacillus diversity in the rhizosphere and the role of Bacilli in exotic or native plant species remain poorly understood.Flaveria bidentis is an invasive grass in China.Setaria viridis i...The effect of exotic plants on Bacillus diversity in the rhizosphere and the role of Bacilli in exotic or native plant species remain poorly understood.Flaveria bidentis is an invasive grass in China.Setaria viridis is a native grass and occurs in areas invaded by F.bidentis.Our objectives were(i)to examine the differences in the Bacillus communities between F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizospheres soil,and(ii)to compare the effects of Bacilli from F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizospheres on the competitiveness of the invasive species.Flaveria bidentis monoculture,mixture of F.bidentis and S.viridis and S.viridis monoculture were designed in the field experiment.Bacillus diversity in their rhizosphere was analyzed using 16S rRNA.One of the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere soil of F.bidentis was selected to test its effect on the competitive growth of F.bidentis in a greenhouse experiment.Bacillus diversity differed in F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizosphere.Brevibacterium frigoritolerans was the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere of both F.bidentis and S.viridis;however,its relative abundance in the F.bidentis rhizosphere was much higher than that in the S.viridis rhizosphere.In addition,B.frigoritolerans in the F.bidentis rhizosphere enhanced the growth of the plant compared with that of S.viridis by improving the nitrogen and phosphorus levels.This study showed that F.bidentis invasion influenced Bacillus communities,especially B.frigoritolerans,which,in turn,facilitated F.bidentis growth by increasing the levels of available nitrogen and phosphorus.展开更多
The mechanism of grain structure evolution during directional solidification is a fundamental subject in material science. Within the published research there exist conflicting views on the mechanism of grain overgrow...The mechanism of grain structure evolution during directional solidification is a fundamental subject in material science. Within the published research there exist conflicting views on the mechanism of grain overgrowth. To study the effect of solidification rate on grain structure evolution, bi-crystals samples were produced in a nickel-base superalloy at different solidification rates. It was found that at the convergent grain boundaries those grains better aligned with respect to the heat flux more readily overgrew neighbouring grains with misaligned orientations and the effect became more pronounced as solidification rate was increased. However, at diverging grain boundaries the rate of overgrowth was invariant to the solidification rate. These experimental results were compared with models in the literature. Thus, a better insight into competitive grain growth in directional solidification processes was obtained.展开更多
A new effect of transient mode competition in directly modulated DFB laser based on equivalent phase-shift (EPS) technique is presented and studied. Since there are multi-order reflections in EPS structure and if th...A new effect of transient mode competition in directly modulated DFB laser based on equivalent phase-shift (EPS) technique is presented and studied. Since there are multi-order reflections in EPS structure and if the 0th order subgrating is properly de- signed, the transient lasing of 0th order will occur during the rising time of the injection current. As a result, transient mode competition between -lst order (main mode) and 0th order will occur accordingly. This can consume redundant carrier and suppress the transient relaxation oscillation, which may be applied in some areas like on-off switching modulation of DFB semiconductor lasers. As an example, an equivalent n phase shift (n-EPS) is carefully designed to realize the effect. In such a laser the 0th order wavelength is in the margin of the material gain region and the -1st order wavelength is around the gain peak, while the stable single longitudinal mode (SLM) operation of the -lst order is guaranteed. The simulation investigation is performed. Good results with suppressed relaxation oscillation and 1.25 Gb/s directly on-off modulation (32 dB extinction ratio) are demonstrated. We believe it provides a new kind of method for on-off switching with high extinction ratio and weak relaxation oscillation.展开更多
Studies of competition in mangroves are mostly limited to seedlings and artificial settings like forestry projects.We conducted the first experimental study of intraspecific competition among adult mangroves in a natu...Studies of competition in mangroves are mostly limited to seedlings and artificial settings like forestry projects.We conducted the first experimental study of intraspecific competition among adult mangroves in a natural mangrove forest to examine how important competition is in determining tree size compared with abiotic conditions.We conducted a study near Port Aransas,TX,USA,which is near the geographical limit of mangroves and dominated by monospecific stands of‘scrub’form black mangroves,Avicennia germinans.We thinned 10 plots to create a gradient of mangrove cover,and quantified the effects of mangrove cover on the growth of tagged mangroves from 2013 to 2019,and the mangrove canopy height in 2019.The relative growth rate of tagged mangroves declined as mangrove cover increased,and plants in the plot with 100%mangrove cover did not grow,indicating that they had attained their maximum size.In plots with reduced mangrove cover,plant height increased sharply,with plants in the plot with 11%mangrove cover growing~52%taller over 6 years.Canopy height was~30%taller in the plot fringe than in the interior,and canopy height in both fringe and interior declined as mangrove cover increased.Measures of leaf chlorophyll concentration and light interception suggested that plants were primarily limited by nitrogen.Our results showed that scrub mangroves compete strongly despite being limited by abiotic conditions,and that the importance of competition was greater in magnitude than that of abiotic differences between the fringe and interior.展开更多
文摘Growth and competition of 14 herb species were investigated in the experimental microcoenosiums in laboratory under the following environmental factors and treatment levels: high and low fertility, clipping and un-clipping, and with and without microbial infusion. The most intense competition and the biggest difference in biomass among the species were detected in the high fertility microcoenosiums subjected to no clipping disturbance. Clippings or low fertility reduced the growth of the competitors and resulted in more even biomass distribution among the species. Successive clippings reduced the total accumulative biomass of the microcoenosiums. Microbial infusion significantly increased the growth of legume species Lotus corniculatus L. and Trifolium pratense L. The growth of Alopecurus pratensis L. was also raised by microbial infusion, whereas Dactylis glomerata L. had more biomass in without-microbial-infusion microcoenosiums than in microbial infusion ones. Most of the 14 species were not obviously affected. The positive effect of microbial infusion was more marked in the low fertility microcoenosiums.
基金supported by National Natural Sci-ence Foundation of China (Grant No.70173022).
文摘This paper, based on the investigation of the statistics in the years of 1980-2005, using Shift-Share Method model, studies systematically the relation between the evolution of industrial structure and regional economic growth in five economic regions in He'nan to offer the foundation of policy for optimizing the industrial structure and promoting regional economic development in phase, and thereby comes to the conclusions: (1) the industrial structure level of He'nan, in comparison with the evolution of the industrial structure across the country, remains low, but yet the evolutional tendency of industrial structure in He'nan complies with the Clark taw of the industrial structure evolution; (2) the spatial difference of He'nan industrial structure evolution is comparatively large, (3) the evolution of industrial structure in He nan that influences economic growth can be categorized into three types: in eastern and southern regions, the shift-share of the industrial structure is negative, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is negative, in western and central regions, the shift.share of the industrial structure is positive, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is positive; in northern regions; the shift-share of the industrial structure is positive, and the shift-share model of competitiveness is negative: (4) the evolution of industriai structure influences greatly the development of the regional economy of He nan As the results of the researches shown, it can innovation of He'nan tra:ditional industry with high-tech the vast development of the tertiary industry, the expansion of He'nan overall level o industrial structure, the growth of deep-processing manufacturing of agricultural products, and the increase of He'nan agricultural products subsidiary value Will be the strategic choices of the rearrangement of He'nan industrial structure.
基金Supported by National Ministry of Education Doctor Foundation of China(20020023045)
文摘Objective To investigate the optimal dosage of pirfenidone for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in Wistar rats, and the alteration of expressions of transforming growth factor beta-1 ( TGF-β1 ), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 ( TIMP-1 ), and matrix metalloproteinase-13 ( MMP-13 ) in lung tissue. Methods Male Wistar rats were endotracheally instilled with bleomycin or normal saline. Pirfenidone (25-800 mg · kg^-l · d^-1 ), dexamethasone (3 mg/kg), or 1% carboxymethylcellulose sodium were given daily by feed 2 days before instillation of bleomycin. Groups T7 and T14 were fed pirfenidone 50 mg · kg^-1 · d^-1 at 7 days or 14 daYs after bleomycin instillation. Lungs were harvested at 28 days after bleomycin instillation. Patholological changes in luffg tissues were evaluated with HE staining. Lung collagen was stained by sirius red and measured by content of hydroxypro- line. Expression of proteins of TGF-β1 TIMP-1, and MMP-13 were detected by Western blotting. Results At doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg· kg^- 1 · d ^- 1, pirfenidone had significant anti-fibrotic effects for bleomy- cin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis, and these effects were most significantly attenuated at the dosage of 50 mg · kg^-1 ·d^ -1( HE: P 〈 0. 01, P 〈 0.01, and P = 0.064; sirius red: P 〈0.05, P 〈 0.01, and P 〈 0.05 ; hydroxyproline: P = 0.595, P 〈 0.01, and P = 0.976). Pirfenidone at a dosage of 50 mg · kg^- l · d^-1 inhibited protein expression of TGF-131 and TIMP-1 in lung tissue in the early phase (0.79 and 0.75 times of control group), but had no effect on ex- nr^eelnn nf MMP-13. Conclusion Low dose pirfenidone, especially at dosage of 50 mg · kg^-1 · d^-1, has significant anti-fibrotic effects on bleomycin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis. Pirfenidone partially inhibits the enhancement of the expression of TGF-131 and TIMP-β1 in lung tissue.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.10875086 and 10775104
文摘We propose two irreversible aggregation growth models of aggregates of two distinct species (.4 and B) to study the interactions between virus aggregates and medicine efficacy aggregates in the virus-medicine cooperative evolution system. The A-species aggregates evolve driven by self monomer birth and B-species aggregate-catalyzed monomer death in model I and by self birth, catalyzed death, and self monomer exchange reactions in model II, while the catalyst B-species aggregates are assumed to be injected into the system sustainedly or at a periodic time-dependent rate. The kinetic behaviors of the A-species aggregates are investigated by the rate equation approach based on the mean-field theory with the self birth rate kernel IA(k) = Ik, catalyzed death rate kernel JAB(k) = Jk and self exchange rate kernel KA (k, l) = Kkl. The kinetic behaviors of the A-species aggregates are mainly dominated by the competition between the two effects of the self birth (with the effective rate I) and the catalyzed death (with the effective rate JB0), while the effects of the self exchanges of the A-species aggregates which appear in an effective rate KAo play important roles in the cases of I 〉 JBo and I = JBo. The evolution behaviors of the total mass M1^A(t) and the total aggregate number MA(t) are obtained, and the aggregate size distribution ak(t) of species A is found to approach a generalized scaling form in the case of I ≥ JBo and a special modified scaling form in the case of I 〈 JB0. The periodical evolution of the B-monomers concentration plays an exponential form of the periodic modulation.
文摘This article is based on growth, financial multidimensional perspective of redundancy and product market competition, focus on growth as a key variable, to explore the growth of financial redundancy and product market competition. The data of 326 real estate companies were selected for empirical analysis. The research finds that the financial redundancy promotes competition in the product market, and the relationship between the growth of the enterprise growth and the competition between the financial redundancy and the competition of the product market.
文摘With the Pearson Correlation Coefficient measurement method, this paper studies the correlation between the various elements influencing the financial competitiveness of the fast fashion enterprieses and the long-term financial stability, which shows that the financial resilience has the biggest correlation with the long-term financial stability, which is followed in sequence by financial management capacity, financial resources capacity, financial performance capacity, and financial activity capacity. This is due to the fact that such factors as financial solvency, financial operations, profitability, growth capacity and the ability to generate cash exert effect upon the long-term stability of the financial competitiveness.
文摘It is an emerging realistic problem on how to promote a high level of technology in the coal industry, find new upgrading powers and create new competitive advantages, which are also the core problems to efficient transformation pattern of economic growth for coal industry in the ''twelfth five-year'' period, involving the key to China's energy supply and energy security. Through field surveys and inductive analyses, analyzing of the content of upgrading the coal industry as an entry point, this paper analyzes the sustainable development mechanisms for the coal industry from the aspects of work force, power, methods, goals, and so on; and puts forward corresponding developmental modes according to the mechanisms which can improve resource recovery and mineral resources utilization rates by putting them into practice.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31972343)Hebei National Natural Science Foundation(C2019201059)College of Life Science,Institute of Life Science and Green Development,Hebei University.
文摘The effect of exotic plants on Bacillus diversity in the rhizosphere and the role of Bacilli in exotic or native plant species remain poorly understood.Flaveria bidentis is an invasive grass in China.Setaria viridis is a native grass and occurs in areas invaded by F.bidentis.Our objectives were(i)to examine the differences in the Bacillus communities between F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizospheres soil,and(ii)to compare the effects of Bacilli from F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizospheres on the competitiveness of the invasive species.Flaveria bidentis monoculture,mixture of F.bidentis and S.viridis and S.viridis monoculture were designed in the field experiment.Bacillus diversity in their rhizosphere was analyzed using 16S rRNA.One of the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere soil of F.bidentis was selected to test its effect on the competitive growth of F.bidentis in a greenhouse experiment.Bacillus diversity differed in F.bidentis and S.viridis rhizosphere.Brevibacterium frigoritolerans was the dominant Bacilli in the rhizosphere of both F.bidentis and S.viridis;however,its relative abundance in the F.bidentis rhizosphere was much higher than that in the S.viridis rhizosphere.In addition,B.frigoritolerans in the F.bidentis rhizosphere enhanced the growth of the plant compared with that of S.viridis by improving the nitrogen and phosphorus levels.This study showed that F.bidentis invasion influenced Bacillus communities,especially B.frigoritolerans,which,in turn,facilitated F.bidentis growth by increasing the levels of available nitrogen and phosphorus.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U1037601 and 50931004)the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2010CB631206)the Program of "One Hundred Talented People" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘The mechanism of grain structure evolution during directional solidification is a fundamental subject in material science. Within the published research there exist conflicting views on the mechanism of grain overgrowth. To study the effect of solidification rate on grain structure evolution, bi-crystals samples were produced in a nickel-base superalloy at different solidification rates. It was found that at the convergent grain boundaries those grains better aligned with respect to the heat flux more readily overgrew neighbouring grains with misaligned orientations and the effect became more pronounced as solidification rate was increased. However, at diverging grain boundaries the rate of overgrowth was invariant to the solidification rate. These experimental results were compared with models in the literature. Thus, a better insight into competitive grain growth in directional solidification processes was obtained.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.61306068 and 61435014)the Nature Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China(Grant Nos.BK20130585,BK2012058 and BK20140414)National High-Tech R&D Program of China(Grand No.SS2015AA012302)
文摘A new effect of transient mode competition in directly modulated DFB laser based on equivalent phase-shift (EPS) technique is presented and studied. Since there are multi-order reflections in EPS structure and if the 0th order subgrating is properly de- signed, the transient lasing of 0th order will occur during the rising time of the injection current. As a result, transient mode competition between -lst order (main mode) and 0th order will occur accordingly. This can consume redundant carrier and suppress the transient relaxation oscillation, which may be applied in some areas like on-off switching modulation of DFB semiconductor lasers. As an example, an equivalent n phase shift (n-EPS) is carefully designed to realize the effect. In such a laser the 0th order wavelength is in the margin of the material gain region and the -1st order wavelength is around the gain peak, while the stable single longitudinal mode (SLM) operation of the -lst order is guaranteed. The simulation investigation is performed. Good results with suppressed relaxation oscillation and 1.25 Gb/s directly on-off modulation (32 dB extinction ratio) are demonstrated. We believe it provides a new kind of method for on-off switching with high extinction ratio and weak relaxation oscillation.
基金supported by Institutional Grants(NA10OAR4170099,NA14OAR4170102,NA18OAR4170088)from the Texas Sea Grant College Program from the National Sea Grant Office,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,U.S.Department of Commerce.
文摘Studies of competition in mangroves are mostly limited to seedlings and artificial settings like forestry projects.We conducted the first experimental study of intraspecific competition among adult mangroves in a natural mangrove forest to examine how important competition is in determining tree size compared with abiotic conditions.We conducted a study near Port Aransas,TX,USA,which is near the geographical limit of mangroves and dominated by monospecific stands of‘scrub’form black mangroves,Avicennia germinans.We thinned 10 plots to create a gradient of mangrove cover,and quantified the effects of mangrove cover on the growth of tagged mangroves from 2013 to 2019,and the mangrove canopy height in 2019.The relative growth rate of tagged mangroves declined as mangrove cover increased,and plants in the plot with 100%mangrove cover did not grow,indicating that they had attained their maximum size.In plots with reduced mangrove cover,plant height increased sharply,with plants in the plot with 11%mangrove cover growing~52%taller over 6 years.Canopy height was~30%taller in the plot fringe than in the interior,and canopy height in both fringe and interior declined as mangrove cover increased.Measures of leaf chlorophyll concentration and light interception suggested that plants were primarily limited by nitrogen.Our results showed that scrub mangroves compete strongly despite being limited by abiotic conditions,and that the importance of competition was greater in magnitude than that of abiotic differences between the fringe and interior.