In dune fescue, mortality was mostly caused by:
In the cited dune-fescue example, drought stress is identified as the main source of mortality. Limited soil moisture can prevent seedlings from establishing and can kill established plants through loss of turgor, reduced photosynthesis, and hydraulic failure. Because weather-driven moisture deficits may strike across densities, this case illustrates how an abiotic event can dominate mortality without providing reliable population-regulating feedback. Demographic mechanisms are linked by the balance dN/dt = births + immigration - deaths - emigration. Density-dependent changes in any of these t
Ref: Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Begon et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 5
