Before revision:  However, we know little about how net plant-to-plant interactions may shift from positive to negative as a function of inter-individual distance, and in the absence of strong empirical support, the relevance of  SDF for vegetation pattern formation remains disputed.
After revision:  However, we know little about how net plant-to-plant interactions may change sign with inter-individual distance, and in the absence of strong empirical support, the relevance of SDF for vegetation pattern formation remains disputed.