TORONTO - In the plant world, bigger isn’t always better, says a new study.

“Until now most of the thinking has suggested that to be a good competitor in the forest, you have to be a big plant,” said Queen’s University biologist Lonnie Aarssen. “But our research shows it’s virtually the other way around.”

Previous studies have revealed that larger plant species monopolize sunlight, water and other resources, limiting the number of smaller plant species that can exist around them.

But smaller plants are much more effective than large trees at utilising available resources.

They also produce seeds at a much younger age and higher rate than their bigger counterparts, thus competing with the seedlings of larger species.

Besides, smaller plants have many advantages over their overbearing neighbours. Larger species generate space niches under their canopies where smaller species thrive.

Queen’s doctoral student Laura Keating targeted the largest for her study individuals or “host plants” of 16 woody plant species growing in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.

“Think of the plants like professional boxers,” said Aarssen. “To win the fight, you need more than a solid punch; you need to be able to tolerate all the punches you’re going to take. The winner may be the competitor with the superior ’staying power’.”

The research team calculated the number and variety of plants that neighboured each large host plant. They then randomly selected plots without host plants and calculated the plant species there as well.

The research showed that the massive trees have no effect on the number of species with which they coexist, said a Queen’s release.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Plant Ecology.