<i>Festuca matthewsii

Divergent small-scale spatial patterns in New Zealand’s short tussock grasslands

>Spatial studies of ecology rarely look at small-scale spatial community organisation within multiple plots on multiple sites therefore it is difficult to draw conclusions that can be generalised. We hypothesised that small-scale spatial patterns of Festuca tussock grasslands should be consistent within a site and between various sites because their functional ecology is likely to be similar. Tussocks were mapped in 15 plots ranging in size from 56 to 400 m2 spread over four sites.