1
|
Rueda-Trujillo MA, Veldhuis MP, van Bodegom PM, de Deurwaerder HPT, Visser M. Global increase of lianas in tropical forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17485. [PMID: 39187993 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
Lianas profoundly affect tropical forests dynamics, reducing productivity and carbon storage, which underscores the importance of monitoring change in their abundance in projecting the future of the global terrestrial carbon store. While increasing liana populations are documented within the Neotropics, the global consistency of these patterns is questioned, and remains to be determined. To evaluate pantropical trends in liana abundance comprehensively and quantitatively, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. This approach allowed us to synthesize data from published longitudinal studies examining liana trends across the tropics. We calculated standardized effect sizes and standard errors, and applied a Bayesian hierarchical meta-analytic model to adjust for publication bias. Our analysis reveals an overall pan-tropical increase in lianas abundance, occurring at an average rate of 1.7 ± 0.7 SE% per year (~10% to 24% per decade). This upward trend, confirmed to be robust against publication bias, extends beyond Neotropical regions, indicating a widespread phenomenon. Although a global trend of increasing liana abundance is evident, significant local variation exist, attributable to differences in life cycle stages, abundance metrics, forest successional stages, and biogeographical realms. Notably, increases in stem density of saplings and biomass of canopy lianas, especially in old-growth forests, point to global climatic drivers and heightened turnover rates in tropical forests as factors promoting sustained liana growth in the canopy and clonal colonization in the understory. These trends suggest that the rise in liana abundance may not only persist but could also intensify under climate change. Considering both previous and current research on lianas, our findings confirm growing concerns about lianas' expanding impact on pan-tropical carbon storage, highlighting their significant potential effect on global carbon dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michiel P Veldhuis
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Peter M van Bodegom
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Marco Visser
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ngute ASK, Schoeman DS, Pfeifer M, van der Heijden GMF, Phillips OL, van Breugel M, Campbell MJ, Chandler CJ, Enquist BJ, Gallagher RV, Gehring C, Hall JS, Laurance S, Laurance WF, Letcher SG, Liu W, Sullivan MJP, Wright SJ, Yuan C, Marshall AR. Global dominance of lianas over trees is driven by forest disturbance, climate and topography. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17140. [PMID: 38273497 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that liana competition with trees is threatening the global carbon sink by slowing the recovery of forests following disturbance. A recent theory based on local and regional evidence further proposes that the competitive success of lianas over trees is driven by interactions between forest disturbance and climate. We present the first global assessment of liana-tree relative performance in response to forest disturbance and climate drivers. Using an unprecedented dataset, we analysed 651 vegetation samples representing 26,538 lianas and 82,802 trees from 556 unique locations worldwide, derived from 83 publications. Results show that lianas perform better relative to trees (increasing liana-to-tree ratio) when forests are disturbed, under warmer temperatures and lower precipitation and towards the tropical lowlands. We also found that lianas can be a critical factor hindering forest recovery in disturbed forests experiencing liana-favourable climates, as chronosequence data show that high competitive success of lianas over trees can persist for decades following disturbances, especially when the annual mean temperature exceeds 27.8°C, precipitation is less than 1614 mm and climatic water deficit is more than 829 mm. These findings reveal that degraded tropical forests with environmental conditions favouring lianas are disproportionately more vulnerable to liana dominance and thus can potentially stall succession, with important implications for the global carbon sink, and hence should be the highest priority to consider for restoration management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alain Senghor K Ngute
- Forest Research Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - David S Schoeman
- Ocean Futures Research Cluster, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | | | | | - Michiel van Breugel
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
- Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mason J Campbell
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Rachael V Gallagher
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Christoph Gehring
- Post-Graduate Program in Agroecology, Maranhão State University, Cd. Universitária Paulo VI, São Luis, Brazil
| | | | - Susan Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Susan G Letcher
- Department of Plant Biology, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
| | - Wenyao Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Martin J P Sullivan
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Chunming Yuan
- Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Andrew R Marshall
- Forest Research Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Schnitzer SA, DeFilippis DM, Aguilar A, Bernal B, Peréz S, Valdés A, Valdés S, Bernal F, Mendoza A, Castro B, Garcia-Leon M. Maximum stem diameter predicts liana population demography. Ecology 2023; 104:e4163. [PMID: 37679881 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Determining population demographic rates is fundamental to understanding differences in species' life-history strategies and their capacity to coexist. Calculating demographic rates, however, is challenging and requires long-term, large-scale censuses. Body size may serve as a simple predictor of demographic rate; can it act as a proxy for demographic rate when those data are unavailable? We tested the hypothesis that maximum body size predicts species' demographic rate using repeated censuses of the 77 most common liana species on the Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI) 50-ha plot. We found that maximum stem diameter does predict species' population turnover and demography. We also found that lianas on BCI can grow to the enormous diameter of 635 mm, indicating that they can store large amounts of carbon and compete intensely with tropical canopy trees. This study is the first to show that maximum stem diameter can predict plant species' demographic rates and that lianas can attain extremely large diameters. Understanding liana demography is particularly timely because lianas are increasing rapidly in many tropical forests, yet their species-level population dynamics remain chronically understudied. Determining per-species maximum liana diameters in additional forests will enable systematic comparative analyses of liana demography and potential influence across forest types.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - David M DeFilippis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Antonio Aguilar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Boris Bernal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Salomé Peréz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Abelino Valdés
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Seberino Valdés
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Fidedigna Bernal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Adrián Mendoza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Biancolini Castro
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Maria Garcia-Leon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Signori-Müller C, Galbraith D, Tavares JV, Reis SM, Diniz FC, Gilpin M, Marimon BS, van der Heijden GMF, Borges C, Cintra BBL, Mião S, Morandi PS, Nina A, Salas Yupayccana CA, Marca Zevallos MJ, Cosio EG, Junior BHM, Mendoza AM, Phillips O, Salinas N, Vasquez R, Mencuccini M, Oliveira RS. Tropical forest lianas have greater non-structural carbohydrate concentrations in the stem xylem than trees. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2023:tpad096. [PMID: 37584458 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpad096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Lianas (woody vines) are important components of tropical forests and are known to compete with host trees for resources, decrease tree growth and increase tree mortality. Given the observed increases in liana abundance in some forests and their impacts on forest function, an integrated understanding of carbon dynamics of lianas and liana-infested host trees is critical for improved prediction of tropical forest responses to climate change. Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are the main substrate for plant metabolism (e.g., growth, respiration), and have been implicated in enabling tree survival under environmental stress, but little is known of how they vary among life-forms or of how liana infestation impacts host tree NSC. We quantified stem total NSC (NSC) concentrations and its fractions (starch and soluble sugars) in trees without liana infestation, trees with more than 50% of the canopy covered by lianas, and the lianas infesting those trees. We hypothesized that i) liana infestation depletes NSC storage in host trees by reducing carbon assimilation due to competition for resources; ii) trees and lianas, which greatly differ in functional traits related to water transport and carbon uptake, would also have large differences in NSC storage, and that As water availability has a significant role in NSC dynamics of Amazonian tree species, we tested these hypotheses within a moist site in western Amazonia and a drier forest site in southern Amazonia. We did not find any difference in NSC, starch or soluble sugar concentrations between infested and non-infested trees, in either site. This result suggests that negative liana impact on trees may be mediated through mechanisms other than depletion of host tree NSC concentrations. We found lianas have higher stem NSC and starch than trees in both sites. The consistent differences in starch concentrations, a long term NSC reserve, between life forms across sites reflect differences in carbon gain and use of lianas and trees. Soluble sugar concentrations were higher in lianas than in trees in the moist site but indistinguishable between life forms in the dry site. The lack of difference in soluble sugars between trees and lianas in the dry site emphasize the importance of this NSC fraction for plant metabolism of plants occurring in water limited environments. Abstract in Portuguese and Spanish are available in the supplementary material.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Signori-Müller
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Julia Valentim Tavares
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - Simone Matias Reis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação da Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal (BIONORTE), UFAM-UNEMAT, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | | | - Beatriz Schwantes Marimon
- Programa de Pós-Graduação da Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal (BIONORTE), UFAM-UNEMAT, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | | | - Camila Borges
- Programa de Pós-Graduação da Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal (BIONORTE), UFAM-UNEMAT, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Bruno Barçante Ladvocat Cintra
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
| | - Sarah Mião
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Paulo S Morandi
- Programa de Pós-Graduação da Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal (BIONORTE), UFAM-UNEMAT, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Alex Nina
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Manuel J Marca Zevallos
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru
| | - Eric G Cosio
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
| | - Ben Hur Marimon Junior
- Programa de Pós-Graduação da Rede de Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal (BIONORTE), UFAM-UNEMAT, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina, Brazil
| | - Abel Monteagudo Mendoza
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru
- Jardín Botánico de Missouri, Cusco, Peru
| | | | - Norma Salinas
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
| | | | | | - Rafael S Oliveira
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Heymann EW, Thiel S, Paciência F, Rimachi Taricuarima MN, Zárate Gómez R, Shahuano Tello N, Heer K, Sennhenn-Reulen H, Mundry R. Non-random host tree infestation by the Neotropical liana Marcgravia longifolia. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14535. [PMID: 36540804 PMCID: PMC9760024 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The question whether or not tropical lianas infest host trees randomly or they exert host selection has implications for the structure and dynamics of tropical rainforests, particularly if colonization by lianas impacts host fitness. In this study, we present evidence that the Neotropical liana Marcgravia longifolia (Marcgraviaceae) infests host trees non-randomly. We identified host trees to species or genus level for 87 of the 100 M. longifolia individuals found in the study area of the Estación Biológica Quebrada Blanco (EBQB) in north-eastern Peruvian Amazonia. Data on host availability were taken from two 1-ha plots sampled at EBQB as part of a large-scale tree inventory in western Amazonia. Of the total of 88 tree genera with two or more individuals present in the inventory, 18 were represented amongst hosts. Host genera with a probability of colonization higher than expected by chance were Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae), Pouteria (Sapotaceae), Brosimum (Moraceae), and Hymenaea (Fabaceae). These findings suggest that M. longifolia exerts some level of host selectivity, but the mechanisms for this are completely unknown. Given the large number of animal species (41 bird species, three primate species) that are dispersing the seeds of M. longifolia and that have diverse ecological strategies, directed seed dispersal is unlikely to account for the observed patterns of host infestation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eckhard W. Heymann
- Verhaltensökologie & Soziobiologie, Deutsches Primatenzentrum –Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung, Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sarina Thiel
- Conservation Ecology, Department of Biology, Philipps Universität, Marburg, Germany
| | - Filipa Paciência
- Verhaltensökologie & Soziobiologie, Deutsches Primatenzentrum –Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung, Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany,Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | | | - Katrin Heer
- Conservation Ecology, Department of Biology, Philipps Universität, Marburg, Germany,Forest Genetics, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Holger Sennhenn-Reulen
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Deutsches Primatenzentrum—Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung, Göttingen, Germany,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany,Nordwestdeutsche Forstliche Versuchsanstalt, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Roger Mundry
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Deutsches Primatenzentrum—Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung, Göttingen, Germany,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany,Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Whole-Plant Seedling Functional Traits Suggest Lianas Also Support “Fast-Slow” Plant Economics Spectrum. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13070990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Lianas are predicted to perform better than trees during seasonal drought among tropical forests, which has substantial implications for tree and forest dynamics. Here, we use whole-plant trait comparison to test whether lianas allocated on the resource acquisitive end of the continuum of woody plant strategies. We measured morphological and biomass allocation traits for seedlings of 153 species of trees and lianas occurring in a tropical forest in Thailand during the dry season. We first compared trait differences between lianas and trees directly, and then classified all species based on their trait similarities. We found that liana seedlings had significantly higher specific leaf areas and specific stem lengths than co-occurring tree seedlings. Trait similarity classification resulted in a liana-dominated cluster and a tree-dominated cluster. Compared to the tree-dominated cluster, species in the liana-dominated cluster were characterized by a consistent pattern of lower dry matter content and cheaper and more efficient per dry mass unit investment in both above- and below-ground organs. The consistency of all organs operating in tandem for dry matter content, together with optimized investment in them per mass unit, implied that the lianas and trees can be highly overlapped on the strategy gradient of the resource acquisition continuum.
Collapse
|
7
|
Willson AM, Trugman AT, Powers JS, Smith-Martin CM, Medvigy D. Climate and hydraulic traits interact to set thresholds for liana viability. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3332. [PMID: 35680917 PMCID: PMC9184652 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30993-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Lianas, or woody vines, and trees dominate the canopy of tropical forests and comprise the majority of tropical aboveground carbon storage. These growth forms respond differently to contemporary variation in climate and resource availability, but their responses to future climate change are poorly understood because there are very few predictive ecosystem models representing lianas. We compile a database of liana functional traits (846 species) and use it to parameterize a mechanistic model of liana-tree competition. The substantial difference between liana and tree hydraulic conductivity represents a critical source of inter-growth form variation. Here, we show that lianas are many times more sensitive to drying atmospheric conditions than trees as a result of this trait difference. Further, we use our competition model and projections of tropical hydroclimate based on Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 to show that lianas are more susceptible to reaching a hydraulic threshold for viability by 2100.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa M Willson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 100 Galvin Life Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Anna T Trugman
- Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Jennifer S Powers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.,Department of Plant and Microbial Ecology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Chris M Smith-Martin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - David Medvigy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 100 Galvin Life Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Medina-Vega JA, van der Heijden GMF, Schnitzer SA. Lianas decelerate tropical forest thinning during succession. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1432-1441. [PMID: 35415947 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The well-established pattern of forest thinning during succession predicts an increase in mean tree biomass with decreasing tree density. The forest thinning pattern is commonly assumed to be driven solely by tree-tree competition. The presence of non-tree competitors could alter thinning trajectories, thus altering the rate of forest succession and carbon uptake. We used a large-scale liana removal experiment over 7 years in a 60- to 70-year-old Panamanian forest to test the hypothesis that lianas reduce the rate of forest thinning during succession. We found that lianas slowed forest thinning by reducing tree growth, not by altering tree recruitment or mortality. Without lianas, trees grew and presumably competed more, ultimately reducing tree density while increasing mean tree biomass. Our findings challenge the assumption that forest thinning is driven solely by tree-tree interactions; instead, they demonstrate that competition from other growth forms, such as lianas, slow forest thinning and ultimately delay forest succession.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José A Medina-Vega
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | | | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Meunier F, Visser MD, Shiklomanov A, Dietze MC, Guzmán Q. JA, Sanchez‐Azofeifa GA, De Deurwaerder HPT, Krishna Moorthy SM, Schnitzer SA, Marvin DC, Longo M, Liu C, Broadbent EN, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Muller‐Landau HC, Detto M, Verbeeck H. Liana optical traits increase tropical forest albedo and reduce ecosystem productivity. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:227-244. [PMID: 34651375 PMCID: PMC9298317 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Lianas are a key growth form in tropical forests. Their lack of self-supporting tissues and their vertical position on top of the canopy make them strong competitors of resources. A few pioneer studies have shown that liana optical traits differ on average from those of colocated trees. Those trait discrepancies were hypothesized to be responsible for the competitive advantage of lianas over trees. Yet, in the absence of reliable modelling tools, it is impossible to unravel their impact on the forest energy balance, light competition, and on the liana success in Neotropical forests. To bridge this gap, we performed a meta-analysis of the literature to gather all published liana leaf optical spectra, as well as all canopy spectra measured over different levels of liana infestation. We then used a Bayesian data assimilation framework applied to two radiative transfer models (RTMs) covering the leaf and canopy scales to derive tropical tree and liana trait distributions, which finally informed a full dynamic vegetation model. According to the RTMs inversion, lianas grew thinner, more horizontal leaves with lower pigment concentrations. Those traits made the lianas very efficient at light interception and significantly modified the forest energy balance and its carbon cycle. While forest albedo increased by 14% in the shortwave, light availability was reduced in the understorey (-30% of the PAR radiation) and soil temperature decreased by 0.5°C. Those liana-specific traits were also responsible for a significant reduction of tree (-19%) and ecosystem (-7%) gross primary productivity (GPP) while lianas benefited from them (their GPP increased by +27%). This study provides a novel mechanistic explanation to the increase in liana abundance, new evidence of the impact of lianas on forest functioning, and paves the way for the evaluation of the large-scale impacts of lianas on forest biogeochemical cycles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Félicien Meunier
- CAVElab—Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
- Department of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Marco D. Visser
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
- Institute of Environmental SciencesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Michael C. Dietze
- Department of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - J. Antonio Guzmán Q.
- Centre for Earth Observation Sciences (CEOS)Earth and Atmospheric Sciences DepartmentUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - G. Arturo Sanchez‐Azofeifa
- Centre for Earth Observation Sciences (CEOS)Earth and Atmospheric Sciences DepartmentUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
| | | | - Sruthi M. Krishna Moorthy
- CAVElab—Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
- Department of Biological SciencesMarquette UniversityMilwaukeeWisconsinUSA
| | | | - Marcos Longo
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Chang Liu
- CAVElab—Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Eben N. Broadbent
- Spatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics SciencesUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
- Spatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, Center for Latin American StudiesUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano
- Spatial Ecology and Conservation (SPEC) Lab, Center for Latin American StudiesUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | | | - Matteo Detto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
| | - Hans Verbeeck
- CAVElab—Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Schnitzer SA, DeFilippis DM, Visser M, Estrada-Villegas S, Rivera-Camaña R, Bernal B, Peréz S, Valdéz A, Valdéz S, Aguilar A, Dalling JW, Broadbent EN, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Hubbell SP, Garcia-Leon M. Local canopy disturbance as an explanation for long-term increases in liana abundance. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2635-2647. [PMID: 34536250 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 06/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Canopy disturbance explains liana abundance and distribution within tropical forests and thus may also explain the widespread pattern of increasing liana abundance; however, this hypothesis remains untested. We used a 10-year study (2007-2017) of 117,100 rooted lianas in an old-growth Panamanian forest to test whether local canopy disturbance explains increasing liana abundance. We found that liana density increased 29.2% and basal area 12.5%. The vast majority of these increases were associated with clonal stem proliferation following canopy disturbance, particularly in liana-dense, low-canopy gaps, which had far greater liana increases than did undisturbed forest. Lianas may be ecological niche constructors, arresting tree regeneration in gaps and thus creating a high-light environment that favours sustained liana proliferation. Our findings demonstrate that liana abundance is increasing rapidly and their ability to proliferate via copious clonal stem production in canopy gaps explains much of their increase in this and possibly other tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá
| | - David M DeFilippis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Marco Visser
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sergio Estrada-Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.,Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | | | - Boris Bernal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Salomé Peréz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Abelino Valdéz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Seberino Valdéz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Antonio Aguilar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - James W Dalling
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.,Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Eben N Broadbent
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | | | - Stephen P Hubbell
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Maria Garcia-Leon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Zhang Y, Liao B, Xin K, Sheng N. Allometric equations for liana species Derris trifoliata and the relationship between inflorescence generation and stem diameter. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
|
12
|
Dickinson CC, Jelesko JG, Barney JN. Habitat Suitability and Establishment Limitations of a Problematic Liana. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:plants10020263. [PMID: 33573102 PMCID: PMC7911500 DOI: 10.3390/plants10020263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The US native liana, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), responsible for contact dermatitis in humans, is a competitive weed with great potential for expansion in disturbed habitats. To facilitate a better understanding of this threat, we sought to evaluate habitat suitability, population demography, and biotic interactions of poison ivy, using a series of complementary field studies in the two habitats where it most commonly occurs-forest interiors and edges. Of the 2500 seeds planted across both habitats, poison ivy initially colonized forest interiors (32% emergence) at a higher rate than edge habitats (16.5% emergence). However, forest interior seedlings were less likely to survive (interior n = 3; edge n = 15), which might be attributed to herbivore pressure when the seedlings were smaller in the less competitive forest interior. Once established, the poison ivy seedlings appeared to be more tolerant of herbivory, except that of large grazers such as deer. The early life stage of seedling emergence, survival, and establishment are critical in poison ivy success, with biotic pressure, especially from plant competition and deer, limiting recruitment. A suitable habitat of this expanding native liana would increase with increasing forest fragmentation, but might be buffered by the expanding deer population.
Collapse
|
13
|
Meunier F, Verbeeck H, Cowdery B, Schnitzer SA, Smith‐Martin CM, Powers JS, Xu X, Slot M, De Deurwaerder HPT, Detto M, Bonal D, Longo M, Santiago LS, Dietze M. Unraveling the relative role of light and water competition between lianas and trees in tropical forests: A vegetation model analysis. THE JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2021; 109:519-540. [PMID: 33536686 PMCID: PMC7839527 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite their low contribution to forest carbon stocks, lianas (woody vines) play an important role in the carbon dynamics of tropical forests. As structural parasites, they hinder tree survival, growth and fecundity; hence, they negatively impact net ecosystem productivity and long-term carbon sequestration.Competition (for water and light) drives various forest processes and depends on the local abundance of resources over time. However, evaluating the relative role of resource availability on the interactions between lianas and trees from empirical observations is particularly challenging. Previous approaches have used labour-intensive and ecosystem-scale manipulation experiments, which are infeasible in most situations.We propose to circumvent this challenge by evaluating the uncertainty of water and light capture processes of a process-based vegetation model (ED2) including the liana growth form. We further developed the liana plant functional type in ED2 to mechanistically simulate water uptake and transport from roots to leaves, and start the model from prescribed initial conditions. We then used the PEcAn bioinformatics platform to constrain liana parameters and run uncertainty analyses.Baseline runs successfully reproduced ecosystem gas exchange fluxes (gross primary productivity and latent heat) and forest structural features (leaf area index, aboveground biomass) in two sites (Barro Colorado Island, Panama and Paracou, French Guiana) characterized by different rainfall regimes and levels of liana abundance.Model uncertainty analyses revealed that water limitation was the factor driving the competition between trees and lianas at the drier site (BCI), and during the relatively short dry season of the wetter site (Paracou). In young patches, light competition dominated in Paracou but alternated with water competition between the wet and the dry season on BCI according to the model simulations.The modelling workflow also identified key liana traits (photosynthetic quantum efficiency, stomatal regulation parameters, allometric relationships) and processes (water use, respiration, climbing) driving the model uncertainty. They should be considered as priorities for future data acquisition and model development to improve predictions of the carbon dynamics of liana-infested forests. Synthesis. Competition for water plays a larger role in the interaction between lianas and trees than previously hypothesized, as demonstrated by simulations from a process-based vegetation model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Félicien Meunier
- Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
- Department of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Hans Verbeeck
- Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Betsy Cowdery
- Department of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteApartadoPanama
- Department of Biological SciencesMarquette UniversityMilwaukeeWIUSA
| | - Chris M. Smith‐Martin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Evolutionary BiologyColumbia UniversityNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteApartadoPanama
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and BehaviorUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMNUSA
| | - Xiangtao Xu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - Martijn Slot
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteApartadoPanama
| | - Hannes P. T. De Deurwaerder
- Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyDepartment of EnvironmentGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNJUSA
| | - Matteo Detto
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteApartadoPanama
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNJUSA
| | - Damien Bonal
- Université de LorraineAgroParisTechINRAEUMR SilvaNancyFrance
| | - Marcos Longo
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Louis S. Santiago
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteApartadoPanama
- Department of Botany and Plant SciencesUniversity of CaliforniaRiversideCAUSA
| | - Michael Dietze
- Department of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMAUSA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Schnitzer SA, Estrada-Villegas S, Wright SJ. The response of lianas to 20 yr of nutrient addition in a Panamanian forest. Ecology 2020; 101:e03190. [PMID: 32893876 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Over the past two decades, liana density and basal area have been increasing in many tropical forests, which has profound consequences for forest diversity and functioning. One hypothesis to explain increasing lianas is elevated nutrient deposition in tropical forests resulting from fossil fuels, agricultural fertilizer, and biomass burning. We tested this hypothesis by surveying all lianas ≥1 cm in diameter (n = 3,967) in 32 plots in a fully factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) addition experiment in a mature tropical forest in central Panama. We conducted the nutrient-addition experiment from 1998 until present and we first censused lianas in 2013 and then again in 2018. After 20 yr of nutrient addition (1998-2018), liana density, basal area, and rarefied species richness did not differ significantly among any of the nutrient-addition and control treatments. Moreover, nutrient addition in the most recent 5 yr of the experiment did not affect liana relative growth, recruitment, or mortality rates. From 2013 until 2018, liana density, basal area, and species richness increased annually by 1.6%, 1.4%, and 2.4%, respectively. Nutrient addition did not influence these increases. Our findings indicate that nutrient deposition does not explain increasing lianas in this tropical forest. Instead, increases in tree mortality and disturbance, atmospheric carbon dioxide, drought frequency and severity, and hunting pressure may be more likely explanations for the increase in lianas in tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Sergio Estrada-Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Kothandaraman S, Dar JA, Sundarapandian S, Dayanandan S, Khan ML. Ecosystem-level carbon storage and its links to diversity, structural and environmental drivers in tropical forests of Western Ghats, India. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13444. [PMID: 32778785 PMCID: PMC7417561 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70313-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forests are rich in biodiversity with great potential for carbon (C) storage. We estimated ecosystem-level C stock using data from 70 forest plots in three major forest types: tropical dry deciduous (TDD I and TDD II), tropical semi-evergreen (TSE I and TSE II) and tropical evergreen forests (TEF I, TEF II and TEF III) of Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, India. The average C stock in these forests was 336.8 Mg C/ha, of which 231.3, 3.0, 2.4, 15.2 and 84.9 Mg C/ha were stored in woody vegetation, understorey, litter, deadwood and soil respectively. The live vegetation, detritus and soil contributed 65.5%, 5.5% and 29% respectively to the total ecosystem-level C stock and distributed in forest types in the order: TEF III > TEF II > TEF I > TSE I > TDD II > TSE II > TDD I. The plant diversity, structural attributes and environmental factors showed significant positive correlations with C stocks and accounted for 6.7, 77.2 and 16% of variance. These findings indicate that the tropical forests in the Western Ghats store large amount of C, and resulting data are invaluable for planning and monitoring forest conservation and management programs to enhance C storage in tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Subashree Kothandaraman
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India
| | - Javid Ahmad Dar
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India
| | - Somaiah Sundarapandian
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India.
| | - Selvadurai Dayanandan
- Biology Department, Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada.
| | - Mohammed Latif Khan
- Department of Botany, Forest Ecology and Eco-Genomics Laboratory, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, MP, 470003, India.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Within-Site Variability of Liana Wood Anatomical Traits: A Case Study in Laussat, French Guiana. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11050523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Research Highlights: We investigated the variability of vessel diameter distributions within the liana growth form among liana individuals originating from a single site in Laussat, French Guiana. Background and Objectives: Lianas (woody vines) are key components of tropical forests. Lianas are believed to be strong competitors for water, thanks to their presumed efficient vascular systems. However, unlike tropical trees, lianas are overlooked in field data collection. As a result, lianas are often referred to as a homogeneous growth form while little is known about the hydraulic architecture variation among liana individuals. Materials and Methods: We measured several wood hydraulic and structural traits (e.g., basic specific gravity, vessel area, and vessel diameter distribution) of 22 liana individuals in a single sandy site in Laussat, French Guiana. We compared the liana variability of these wood traits and the correlations among them with an existing liana pantropical dataset and two published datasets of trees originating from different, but species-rich, tropical sites. Results: Liana vessel diameter distribution and density were heterogeneous among individuals: there were two orders of magnitude difference between the smallest (4 µm) and the largest (494 µm) vessel diameters, a 50-fold difference existed between extreme vessel densities ranging from 1.8 to 89.3 vessels mm−2, the mean vessel diameter varied between 26 µm and 271 µm, and the individual theoretical stem hydraulic conductivity estimates ranged between 28 and 1041 kg m−1 s−1 MPa−1. Basic specific gravity varied between 0.26 and 0.61. Consequently, liana wood trait variability, even within a small sample, was comparable in magnitude with tree surveys from other tropical sites and the pantropical liana dataset. Conclusions: This study illustrates that even controlling for site and soil type, liana traits are heterogeneous and cannot be considered as a homogeneous growth form. Our results show that the liana hydraulic architecture heterogeneity across and within sites warrants further investigation in order to categorize lianas into functional groups in the same way as trees
Collapse
|
17
|
Lugli LF. Digging deeper? Biomass allocation patterns in trees and lianas in tropical seasonal forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 226:639-640. [PMID: 31904868 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Laynara F Lugli
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Smith-Martin CM, Xu X, Medvigy D, Schnitzer SA, Powers JS. Allometric scaling laws linking biomass and rooting depth vary across ontogeny and functional groups in tropical dry forest lianas and trees. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 226:714-726. [PMID: 31630397 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
There are two theories about how allocation of metabolic products occurs. The allometric biomass partitioning theory (APT) suggests that all plants follow common allometric scaling rules. The optimal partitioning theory (OPT) predicts that plants allocate more biomass to the organ capturing the most limiting resource. Whole-plant harvests of mature and juvenile tropical deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and lianas and model simulations were used to address the following knowledge gaps: (1) Do mature lianas comply with the APT scaling laws or do they invest less biomass in stems compared to trees? (2) Do juveniles follow the same allocation patterns as mature individuals? (3) Is either leaf phenology or life form a predictor of rooting depth? It was found that: (1) mature lianas followed the same allometric scaling laws as trees; (2) juveniles and mature individuals do not follow the same allocation patterns; and (3) mature lianas had shallowest coarse roots and evergreen trees had the deepest. It was demonstrated that: (1) mature lianas invested proportionally similar biomass to stems as trees and not less, as expected; (2) lianas were not deeper-rooted than trees as had been previously proposed; and (3) evergreen trees had the deepest roots, which is necessary to maintain canopy during simulated dry seasons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chris M Smith-Martin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Xiangtao Xu
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - David Medvigy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Jennifer S Powers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Estrada‐Villegas S, Hall JS, Breugel M, Schnitzer SA. Lianas reduce biomass accumulation in early successional tropical forests. Ecology 2020; 101:e02989. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Estrada‐Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa, Ancon Panama City Panama
| | - Jefferson S. Hall
- ForestGEO Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa, Ancon Panama City Panama
| | - Michiel Breugel
- ForestGEO Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa, Ancon Panama City Panama
- Yale‐NUS College 16 College Avenue West 138527 Singapore Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore 14 Science Drive 4 117542 Singapore Singapore
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa, Ancon Panama City Panama
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
di Porcia e Brugnera M, Meunier F, Longo M, Krishna Moorthy SM, De Deurwaerder H, Schnitzer SA, Bonal D, Faybishenko B, Verbeeck H. Modeling the impact of liana infestation on the demography and carbon cycle of tropical forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3767-3780. [PMID: 31310429 PMCID: PMC6856694 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
There is mounting empirical evidence that lianas affect the carbon cycle of tropical forests. However, no single vegetation model takes into account this growth form, although such efforts could greatly improve the predictions of carbon dynamics in tropical forests. In this study, we incorporated a novel mechanistic representation of lianas in a dynamic global vegetation model (the Ecosystem Demography Model). We developed a liana-specific plant functional type and mechanisms representing liana-tree interactions (such as light competition, liana-specific allometries, and attachment to host trees) and parameterized them according to a comprehensive literature meta-analysis. We tested the model for an old-growth forest (Paracou, French Guiana) and a secondary forest (Gigante Peninsula, Panama). The resulting model simulations captured many features of the two forests characterized by different levels of liana infestation as revealed by a systematic comparison of the model outputs with empirical data, including local census data from forest inventories, eddy flux tower data, and terrestrial laser scanner-derived forest vertical structure. The inclusion of lianas in the simulations reduced the secondary forest net productivity by up to 0.46 tC ha-1 year-1 , which corresponds to a limited relative reduction of 2.6% in comparison with a reference simulation without lianas. However, this resulted in significantly reduced accumulated above-ground biomass after 70 years of regrowth by up to 20 tC /ha (19% of the reference simulation). Ultimately, the simulated negative impact of lianas on the total biomass was almost completely cancelled out when the forest reached an old-growth successional stage. Our findings suggest that lianas negatively influence the forest potential carbon sink strength, especially for young, disturbed, liana-rich sites. In light of the critical role that lianas play in the profound changes currently experienced by tropical forests, this new model provides a robust numerical tool to forecast the impact of lianas on tropical forest carbon sinks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Félicien Meunier
- CAVElab – Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
- Ecological Forecasting LabDepartment of Earth and EnvironmentBoston UniversityBostonMAUSA
| | - Marcos Longo
- Embrapa Agricultural InformaticsCampinasSPBrazil
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | | | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaAnconPanama
- Department of Biological SciencesMarquette UniversityMilwaukeeWIUSA
| | - Damien Bonal
- UMR SilvaUniversité de Lorraine, AgroParisTech, INRANancyFrance
| | - Boris Faybishenko
- Earth and Environmental Science AreaLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Hans Verbeeck
- CAVElab – Computational and Applied Vegetation EcologyGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Canopy Temperature Differences between Liana-Infested and Non-Liana Infested Areas in a Neotropical Dry Forest. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10100890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Lianas (woody vines) are important non-structural elements of all tropical forests. Current field observations across the Neotropics suggest that liana abundance is rising as a result of forest disturbance, increasing atmospheric CO2, and more frequent extreme climate events. Lianas can cause mechanical stress on their host trees, thus increasing mortality, in addition to potentially reducing carbon storage capacity. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested that liana leaves have an overall higher temperature than tree leaves, which presents the question of whether these differences can be extended from the leaf to the canopy. In this context, the ability to detect these temperature differences from a remote sensing platform has so far not been put into test, despite the importance such knowledge can have in large-scale land surface modeling studies and liana extent monitoring. To partially fill this knowledge gap, we acquired thermal infrared data using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system over an intermediate tropical dry forest in Costa Rica, Central America. Classification results from a previous study in the same area were used to subset the thermal infrared images into liana-infested areas, non-liana infested areas, and forest gaps. The temperature differences between these three image components were then investigated using the Welch and Games–Howell post-hoc statistical tests. Our results suggest that liana-infested areas have, on average, a statistically significant higher temperature than non-liana infested areas. Shadowed forest gaps, used as reference, have a cooler temperature than forest canopies. Our findings on the temperature differences between liana-infested and non-liana infested areas support previous leaf-level observations and open the door to the use of new approaches for the classification and modeling of liana infestation in tropical ecosystems.
Collapse
|
22
|
Smith‐Martin CM, Bastos CL, Lopez OR, Powers JS, Schnitzer SA. Effects of dry‐season irrigation on leaf physiology and biomass allocation in tropical lianas and trees. Ecology 2019; 100:e02827. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chris M. Smith‐Martin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Carolina L. Bastos
- Department of Botany Plant Anatomy Laboratory São Paulo University (USP) São Paulo Brazil
| | - Omar R. Lopez
- Center for Biodiversity and Drug Discovery Institute for Advanced Research and Technology City of Knowledge Clayton Panama
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panama
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panama
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Circle St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panama
- Department of Biology Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Cox CJ, Edwards W, Campbell MJ, Laurance WF, Laurance SGW. Liana cover in the canopies of rainforest trees is not predicted by local ground‐based measures. AUSTRAL ECOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Casey J. Cox
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science College of Science and Engineering James Cook University P.O. Box 6811 Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - Will Edwards
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science College of Science and Engineering James Cook University P.O. Box 6811 Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - Mason J. Campbell
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science College of Science and Engineering James Cook University P.O. Box 6811 Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - William F. Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science College of Science and Engineering James Cook University P.O. Box 6811 Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - Susan G. W. Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science College of Science and Engineering James Cook University P.O. Box 6811 Cairns Queensland Australia
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Dead Wood Necromass in a Moist Tropical Forest: Stocks, Fluxes, and Spatiotemporal Variability. Ecosystems 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-019-00341-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
25
|
Waite CE, Heijden GMF, Field R, Boyd DS. A view from above: Unmanned aerial vehicles (
UAV
s) provide a new tool for assessing liana infestation in tropical forest canopies. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Richard Field
- School of GeographyUniversity of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| | - Doreen S. Boyd
- School of GeographyUniversity of Nottingham Nottingham UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Laurentino TG, Baur J, Usui T, Eichhorn MP. Liana abundance and relationships to sapling and tree hosts in an East African primary forest. Afr J Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Julian Baur
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal EcologyUppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Takuji Usui
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research CentreUniversity of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
| | - Markus P. Eichhorn
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University College Cork Distillery Fields North Mall, Cork Ireland
- Environmental Research InstituteUniversity College Cork Lee Road, Cork Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Schnitzer SA. Testing ecological theory with lianas. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 220:366-380. [PMID: 30247750 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/29/2018] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Contents Summary 366 I. Introduction 366 II. Testing ecological theory: effects of the environment on lianas 369 III. A unified explanation for liana distribution and the maintenance of liana diversity 370 IV. Testing ecological theory: effects of lianas on the environment 373 V. Theoretical effects of lianas on forest diversity 375 VI. Lianas and trophic interactions in forests 375 VII. Unresolved challenges in liana ecology 376 VIII. Conclusions 377 Acknowledgements 377 References 377 SUMMARY: Lianas constitute a diverse polyphyletic plant group that is advancing our understanding of ecological theory. Specifically, lianas are providing new insights into the mechanisms that control plant distribution and diversity maintenance. For example, there is now evidence that a single, scalable mechanism may explain local, regional, and pan-tropical distribution of lianas, as well as the maintenance of liana species diversity. The ability to outcompete trees under dry, stressful conditions in seasonal forests provides lianas a growth advantage that, over time, results in relatively high abundance in seasonal forests and low abundance in aseasonal forests. Lianas may also gain a similar growth advantage following disturbance, thus explaining why liana density and diversity peak following disturbance at the local, forest scale. The study of ecology, however, is more than the effect of the environment on organisms; it also includes the effects of organisms on the environment. Considerable empirical evidence now indicates that lianas substantially alter their environment by consuming resources, suppressing tree performance, and influencing emergent properties of forests, such as ecosystem functioning, plant and animal diversity, and community composition. These recent studies using lianas are transcending classical tropical ecology research and are now providing novel insights into fundamental ecological theory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Balboa, República de Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Estrada‐Villegas S, Schnitzer SA. A comprehensive synthesis of liana removal experiments in tropical forests. Biotropica 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Estrada‐Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University PO Box 1881 Milwaukee WI 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa República de Panamá
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University PO Box 1881 Milwaukee WI 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa República de Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Campbell MJ, Edwards W, Magrach A, Alamgir M, Porolak G, Mohandass D, Laurance WF. Edge disturbance drives liana abundance increase and alteration of liana-host tree interactions in tropical forest fragments. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:4237-4251. [PMID: 29721294 PMCID: PMC5916267 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Closed‐canopy forests are being rapidly fragmented across much of the tropical world. Determining the impacts of fragmentation on ecological processes enables better forest management and improves species‐conservation outcomes. Lianas are an integral part of tropical forests but can have detrimental and potentially complex interactions with their host trees. These effects can include reduced tree growth and fecundity, elevated tree mortality, alterations in tree‐species composition, degradation of forest succession, and a substantial decline in forest carbon storage. We examined the individual impacts of fragmentation and edge effects (0–100‐m transect from edge to forest interior) on the liana community and liana–host tree interactions in rainforests of the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland, Australia. We compared the liana and tree community, the traits of liana‐infested trees, and determinants of the rates of tree infestation within five forest fragments (23–58 ha in area) and five nearby intact‐forest sites. Fragmented forests experienced considerable disturbance‐induced degradation at their edges, resulting in a significant increase in liana abundance. This effect penetrated to significantly greater depths in forest fragments than in intact forests. The composition of the liana community in terms of climbing guilds was significantly different between fragmented and intact forests, likely because forest edges had more small‐sized trees favoring particular liana guilds which preferentially use these for climbing trellises. Sites that had higher liana abundances also exhibited higher infestation rates of trees, as did sites with the largest lianas. However, large lianas were associated with low‐disturbance forest sites. Our study shows that edge disturbance of forest fragments significantly altered the abundance and community composition of lianas and their ecological relationships with trees, with liana impacts on trees being elevated in fragments relative to intact forests. Consequently, effective control of lianas in forest fragments requires management practices which directly focus on minimizing forest edge disturbance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mason J. Campbell
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS)College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| | - Will Edwards
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS)College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| | - Ainhoa Magrach
- Basque Centre for Climate Change‐BC3LeioaSpain
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
| | - Mohammed Alamgir
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS)College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| | - Gabriel Porolak
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS)College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| | - D. Mohandass
- Root and Soil Biology LabDepartment of BotanyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - William F. Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS)College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Vargas BDC, Oliveira APC, Udulutsch RG, Marcusso GM, Sabino GP, Melo PHAD, Grillo RMM, Kamimura VDA, Assis MA. Climbing plants of Porto Ferreira State Park, southeastern Brazil. BIOTA NEOTROPICA 2018. [DOI: 10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2017-0346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract A floristic survey of climbing plants was carried out in an ecotone area of seasonal semideciduous forest (SSF) and forested savanna (CER), in Porto Ferreira State Park (PFSP), Southeastern Brazil. We sampled the reproductive specimens every month during two periods, March 2010 to September 2011 and April and July 2015. The surveys were performed by the walking method, and the sampled individuals were classified by habit, climbing mechanism and dispersal mode. Overall, 109 species, belonging to 67 genera and 29 families, were recorded; 49 species occurred in both, 29 and 31 were exclusive to SSF and CER, respectively. Bignoniaceae and Malpighiaceae were the richest families, with 17 species, followed by Sapindaceae (12 species), Asteraceae and Apocynaceae (8 species each) and Fabaceae (6). The majority of climbers were lianas, twining and anemochoric species, corresponding to 70%, 47% and 66% of all samples, respectively. In this work, we added one new family and 14 species to the Cerrado’s list of climbing plants from São Paulo state, and 10 species to the Brazilian seasonal semideciduous forest’s list. Therefore, we contributed to the understanding of diversity of climbing plants in vegetation types poorly studied for this plant group, mainly in the Cerradão, wherein we found new records for several species.
Collapse
|
31
|
Jones IL, Peres CA, Benchimol M, Bunnefeld L, Dent DH. Woody lianas increase in dominance and maintain compositional integrity across an Amazonian dam-induced fragmented landscape. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185527. [PMID: 29040272 PMCID: PMC5644977 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forest fragmentation creates insular biological communities that undergo species loss and changes in community composition over time, due to area- and edge-effects. Woody lianas thrive in degraded and secondary forests, due to their competitive advantage over trees in these habitats. Lianas compete both directly and indirectly with trees, increasing tree mortality and turnover. Despite our growing understanding of liana-tree dynamics, we lack detailed knowledge of the assemblage-level responses of lianas themselves to fragmentation, particularly in evergreen tropical forests. We examine the responses of both sapling and mature liana communities to landscape-scale forest insularization induced by a mega hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Detailed field inventories were conducted on islands created during reservoir filling, and in nearby mainland continuous forest. We assess the relative importance of variables associated with habitat fragmentation such as area, isolation, surrounding forest cover, fire and wind disturbance, on liana community attributes including abundance, basal area, diversity, and composition. We also explore patterns of liana dominance relative to tree saplings and adults ≥10 cm diameter at breast height. We find that 1) liana community composition remains remarkably similar across mainland continuous forest and islands, regardless of extreme area- and edge- effects and the loss of vertebrate dispersers in the latter; and 2) lianas are increasing in dominance relative to trees in the sapling layer in the most degraded islands, with both the amount of forest cover surrounding islands and fire disturbance history predicting liana dominance. Our data suggest that liana communities persist intact in isolated forests, regardless of extreme area- and edge-effects; while in contrast, tree communities simultaneously show evidence of increased turnover and supressed recruitment. These processes may lead to lianas becoming a dominant component of this dam-induced fragmented landscape in the future, due to their competitive advantage over trees in degraded forest habitats. Additional loss of tree biomass and diversity brought about through competition with lianas, and the concurrent loss of carbon storage, should be accounted for in impact assessments of future dam development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabel L. Jones
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Carlos A. Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lynsey Bunnefeld
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
| | - Daisy H. Dent
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Panama
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Lai HR, Hall JS, Turner BL, van Breugel M. Liana effects on biomass dynamics strengthen during secondary forest succession. Ecology 2017; 98:1062-1070. [PMID: 28072458 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2016] [Revised: 12/08/2016] [Accepted: 12/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Secondary forests are important carbon sinks, but their biomass dynamics vary markedly within and across landscapes. The biotic and abiotic drivers of this variation are still not well understood. We tested the effects of soil resource availability and competition by lianas on the biomass dynamics of young secondary tropical forests in Panama and assessed the extent to which liana effects were mediated by soil resource availability. Over a five-year period, growth, mortality, and recruitment of woody plants of ≥1 cm diameter were monitored in 84 plots in 3-30-year-old secondary forests across the Agua Salud site in central Panama. Biomass dynamics and the effects of lianas and soil resources were examined using (generalized) linear mixed-effect models and a model averaging approach. There was strong spatial and temporal variation in liana biomass within and across the plots. The relative biomass of lianas had a strong negative effect on overall tree growth, growth of understory trees decreased with soil fertility and dry season soil water content, and the effect of lianas on tree mortality varied with soil fertility. Tree recruitment was not associated with any of the predictor variables. Our model indicates that tree biomass growth across our landscape was reduced with 22% due to competition with lianas, and that the effect of lianas increased during succession, from 19% after five years to 32% after 30 years. The projected liana-induced growth reduction after 60 years was 47%, which was consistent with data from a nearby site. Our study shows that the observed liana proliferation across tropical forests may reduce the sequestration and storage of carbon in young secondary forests, with important implications for the carbon balance of tropical forest landscapes and consequently for global climate change. Our study highlights the need to incorporate lianas and soil variables in research on the biomass dynamics of secondary forest across tropical landscapes, and the need for well-replicated longitudinal studies to cover landscape-level variability in the relevant abiotic and biotic components.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Ran Lai
- Yale-NUS College, 16 College Avenue West, 138527 Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117542 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jefferson S Hall
- ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama City, Panama
| | - Benjamin L Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama City, Panama
| | - Michiel van Breugel
- Yale-NUS College, 16 College Avenue West, 138527 Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117542 Singapore, Singapore.,ForestGEO, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama City, Panama
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Smith JR, Queenborough SA, Alvia P, Romero-Saltos H, Valencia R. No strong evidence for increasing liana abundance in the Myristicaceae of a Neotropical aseasonal rain forest. Ecology 2017; 98:456-466. [PMID: 27859035 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Revised: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The "liana dominance hypothesis" posits that lianas are increasing in abundance in tropical forests, thereby potentially reducing tree biomass due to competitive interactions between trees and lianas. This scenario has implications not only for forest ecosystem function and species composition, but also climate change given the mass of carbon stored in tropical trees. In 2003 and 2013, all Myristicaceae trees in the 50-ha Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot, Ecuador, were surveyed for liana presence and load in their crowns. We tested the hypothesis that the proportion of trees with lianas increased between 2003 and 2013 in line with the liana dominance hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, the total proportion of trees with lianas decreased from 35% to 32%, and when only trees ≥10 cm diameter at breast height were considered liana incidence increased 44-48%. Liana load was dynamic with a large proportion of trees losing or gaining lianas over the 10-yr period; large trees with intermediate liana loads increased in proportion at the expense of those with low and high loads. Lianas also impacted performance: trees with 26-75% crown cover by lianas in 2003 had reduced growth rates of 80% compared to of liana-free trees, and trees with >75% crown cover had 33% the growth rate and a log odds of mortality eight times that of liana-free trees. We suggest that the lack of strong support found for the liana dominance hypothesis is likely due to the aseasonal climate of Yasuní, which limits the competitive advantage lianas maintain over trees during dry seasons due to their efficient capture and use of water. We propose further research of long-term liana dynamics from aseasonal forests is required to determine the generality of the increasing liana dominance hypothesis in Neotropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James R Smith
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Simon A Queenborough
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Avenue, 300 Aronoff Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA
| | - Pablo Alvia
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Apartado 17-01-2184, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076, Quito, Ecuador
| | | | - Renato Valencia
- Laboratory of Plant Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Apartado 17-01-2184, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076, Quito, Ecuador
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Rodríguez‐Ronderos ME, Bohrer G, Sanchez‐Azofeifa A, Powers JS, Schnitzer SA. Contribution of lianas to plant area index and canopy structure in a Panamanian forest. Ecology 2016; 97:3271-3277. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Elizabeth Rodríguez‐Ronderos
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin 53203 USA
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee Milwaukee Wisconsin 53211 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panamá
| | - Gil Bohrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
| | - Arturo Sanchez‐Azofeifa
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Alberta Centre for Earth Observation Sciences (CEOS) University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E3 Canada
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panamá
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Plant Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin 53203 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 2072 Balboa Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Addo-Fordjour P, Owusu-Boadi K. Linear edge effects on liana and tree communities in two tropical forest ecosystems in Ghana. Ecol Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-016-1382-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
36
|
Marshall AR, Coates MA, Archer J, Kivambe E, Mnendendo H, Mtoka S, Mwakisoma R, de Figueiredo RJRL, Njilima FM. Liana cutting for restoring tropical forests: a rare palaeotropical trial. Afr J Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R. Marshall
- CIRCLE; Environment Department; University of York; YO10 5NG York U.K
- Flamingo Land Ltd.; Kirby Misperton YO10 6UX North Yorkshire U.K
- Udzungwa Forest Project; PO Box 99 Mang'ula Morogoro Tanzania
| | - Michael A. Coates
- CIRCLE; Environment Department; University of York; YO10 5NG York U.K
| | - Jennifer Archer
- CIRCLE; Environment Department; University of York; YO10 5NG York U.K
- School of Geography; University of Leeds; Leeds North Yorkshire LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Exaud Kivambe
- Udzungwa Forest Project; PO Box 99 Mang'ula Morogoro Tanzania
| | | | - Samuel Mtoka
- Udzungwa Forest Project; PO Box 99 Mang'ula Morogoro Tanzania
- Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute; Kingupira Wildlife Research Centre; PO Box 16 Utete Rufiji Tanzania
| | - Ruben Mwakisoma
- Udzungwa Forest Project; PO Box 99 Mang'ula Morogoro Tanzania
- Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre; PO Box 99 Mang'ula Morogoro Tanzania
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Luke D, McLaren K, Wilson B. Short-term Dynamics and the Effects of Biotic and Abiotic Factors on Plant Physiognomic Groups in a Hurricane-impacted Lower Montane Tropical Forest. Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Denneko Luke
- Department of Life Sciences; University of the West Indies; Mona Kingston 7 Jamaica
| | - Kurt McLaren
- Department of Life Sciences; University of the West Indies; Mona Kingston 7 Jamaica
| | - Byron Wilson
- Department of Life Sciences; University of the West Indies; Mona Kingston 7 Jamaica
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Martínez‐Izquierdo L, García MM, Powers JS, Schnitzer SA. Lianas suppress seedling growth and survival of 14 tree species in a Panamanian tropical forest. Ecology 2016; 97:215-24. [DOI: 10.1890/14-2261.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Martínez‐Izquierdo
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
| | - María M. García
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Plant Biology University of Minnesota 1987 Upper Buford Circle St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa República de Panamá
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado Postal 0843‐03092 Balboa República de Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Bello C, Galetti M, Pizo MA, Magnago LFS, Rocha MF, Lima RAF, Peres CA, Ovaskainen O, Jordano P. Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2015; 1:e1501105. [PMID: 26824067 PMCID: PMC4730851 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Carbon storage is widely acknowledged as one of the most valuable forest ecosystem services. Deforestation, logging, fragmentation, fire, and climate change have significant effects on tropical carbon stocks; however, an elusive and yet undetected decrease in carbon storage may be due to defaunation of large seed dispersers. Many large tropical trees with sizeable contributions to carbon stock rely on large vertebrates for seed dispersal and regeneration, however many of these frugivores are threatened by hunting, illegal trade, and habitat loss. We used a large data set on tree species composition and abundance, seed, fruit, and carbon-related traits, and plant-animal interactions to estimate the loss of carbon storage capacity of tropical forests in defaunated scenarios. By simulating the local extinction of trees that depend on large frugivores in 31 Atlantic Forest communities, we found that defaunation has the potential to significantly erode carbon storage even when only a small proportion of large-seeded trees are extirpated. Although intergovernmental policies to reduce carbon emissions and reforestation programs have been mostly focused on deforestation, our results demonstrate that defaunation, and the loss of key ecological interactions, also poses a serious risk for the maintenance of tropical forest carbon storage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Bello
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
| | - Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
| | - Marco A. Pizo
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
| | - Luiz Fernando S. Magnago
- Departamento de Biologia, Setor de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais 37200-000, Brazil
| | - Mariana F. Rocha
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plants, Av PH Rolfs s/n, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900 MG, Brazil
| | - Renato A. F. Lima
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Carlos A. Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR47TJ, UK
| | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 65, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Isla de La Cartuja, Avenida Américo Vespucio S/N, E-41092 Sevilla, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Short and Long-Term Soil Moisture Effects of Liana Removal in a Seasonally Moist Tropical Forest. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141891. [PMID: 26545205 PMCID: PMC4636185 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Lianas (woody vines) are particularly abundant in tropical forests, and their abundance is increasing in the neotropics. Lianas can compete intensely with trees for above- and belowground resources, including water. As tropical forests experience longer and more intense dry seasons, competition for water is likely to intensify. However, we lack an understanding of how liana abundance affects soil moisture and hence competition with trees for water in tropical forests. To address this critical knowledge gap, we conducted a large-scale liana removal experiment in a seasonal tropical moist forest in central Panama. We monitored shallow and deep soil moisture over the course of three years to assess the effects of lianas in eight 0.64 ha removal plots and eight control plots. Liana removal caused short-term effects in surface soils. Surface soils (10 cm depth) in removal plots dried more slowly during dry periods and accumulated water more slowly after rainfall events. These effects disappeared within four months of the removal treatment. In deeper soils (40 cm depth), liana removal resulted in a multi-year trend towards 5–25% higher soil moisture during the dry seasons with the largest significant effects occurring in the dry season of the third year following treatment. Liana removal did not affect surface soil temperature. Multiple and mutually occurring mechanisms may be responsible for the effects of liana removal on soil moisture, including competition with trees, and altered microclimate, and soil structure. These results indicate that lianas influence hydrologic processes, which may affect tree community dynamics and forest carbon cycling.
Collapse
|
41
|
van der Heijden GMF, Powers JS, Schnitzer SA. Lianas reduce carbon accumulation and storage in tropical forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:13267-71. [PMID: 26460031 PMCID: PMC4629347 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1504869112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forests store vast quantities of carbon, account for one-third of the carbon fixed by photosynthesis, and are a major sink in the global carbon cycle. Recent evidence suggests that competition between lianas (woody vines) and trees may reduce forest-wide carbon uptake; however, estimates of the impact of lianas on carbon dynamics of tropical forests are crucially lacking. Here we used a large-scale liana removal experiment and found that, at 3 y after liana removal, lianas reduced net above-ground carbon uptake (growth and recruitment minus mortality) by ∼76% per year, mostly by reducing tree growth. The loss of carbon uptake due to liana-induced mortality was four times greater in the control plots in which lianas were present, but high variation among plots prevented a significant difference among the treatments. Lianas altered how aboveground carbon was stored. In forests where lianas were present, the partitioning of forest aboveground net primary production was dominated by leaves (53.2%, compared with 39.2% in liana-free forests) at the expense of woody stems (from 28.9%, compared with 43.9%), resulting in a more rapid return of fixed carbon to the atmosphere. After 3 y of experimental liana removal, our results clearly demonstrate large differences in carbon cycling between forests with and without lianas. Combined with the recently reported increases in liana abundance, these results indicate that lianas are an important and increasing agent of change in the carbon dynamics of tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Geertje M F van der Heijden
- Department of Biology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53201; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panamá; School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom;
| | - Jennifer S Powers
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panamá; Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108; Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
| | - Stefan A Schnitzer
- Department of Biology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53201; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Kirschbaum MUF, Lambie SM. Re-analysis of plant CO 2 responses during the exponential growth phase: interactions with light, temperature, nutrients and water availability. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2015; 42:989-1000. [PMID: 32480738 DOI: 10.1071/fp15103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Accepted: 07/01/2015] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Many short-term experiments have been conducted under increasing CO2 but results have been varied and have not yet led to a conclusive quantitative understanding of the CO2 response of plant growth. This may have been partly due to a lack of explicit consideration of the positive feedback inherent in plant growth during periods of exponential growth. This feedback can increase an initial physiological enhancement of relative growth rate (RGR) into a much larger biomass enhancement. To overcome this problem, we re-analysed existing experimental data from 78 publications. We calculated the RGRs of C3 plants and their relative enhancement under elevated CO2 and derived response indices that were independent of the duration of experiments and the RGR at normal atmospheric CO2. The RGR of unstressed plants increased by 14±2% under doubled CO2, with observed RGR enhancement linearly correlated with calculated photosynthetic enhancements (based on the Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry photosynthesis model), but at only half their numeric values. Calculated RGR enhancements did not change significantly for temperatures from 12 to 40°C, but were reduced under nutrient limitation, and were increased under water stress or low irradiance. We concluded that short-term experiments can offer simple and cost-effective insights into plant CO2 responses, provided they are analysed by calculating relative changes in RGR during the strictly exponential initial growth phase.
Collapse
|
43
|
Ichihashi R, Tateno M. Biomass allocation and long-term growth patterns of temperate lianas in comparison with trees. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2015; 207:604-612. [PMID: 25817272 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2014] [Accepted: 02/26/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The host-dependent support habit of lianas is generally interpreted as a strategy designed to reduce resource investment in mechanical tissues; this allows preferential allocation to leaf and stem extension, thereby enhancing productivity and competitive abilities. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously tested. We examined the aboveground allometries regarding biomass allocation (leaf mass and current-year stem mass (approximated as biomass allocated to extension growth) vs total aboveground mass) and long-term apparent growth patterns (height and aboveground mass vs age, i.e. numbers of growth rings) for nine deciduous liana species in Japan. Lianas had, on average, three- and five-fold greater leaf and current-year stem mass, respectively, than trees for a given aboveground mass, whereas the time course to reach the forest canopy was comparable and biomass accumulation during that period was only one-tenth that of co-occurring canopy trees. The balance between the lengths of yearly stem extension and existing older stems indicated that lianas lost c. 75% of stem length during growth to the canopy, which is probably a consequence of the host-dependent growth. Our observations suggest that, although lianas rely on hosts mechanically, allowing for short-term vigorous growth, this habit requires a large cost and could limit plant growth over protracted periods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryuji Ichihashi
- Nikko Botanical Garden, The University of Tokyo, Nikko, Tochigi, 321-1435, Japan
| | - Masaki Tateno
- Nikko Botanical Garden, The University of Tokyo, Nikko, Tochigi, 321-1435, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Marvin DC, Winter K, Burnham RJ, Schnitzer SA. No evidence that elevated CO2 gives tropical lianas an advantage over tropical trees. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:2055-2069. [PMID: 25471795 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies indicate that lianas are increasing in size and abundance relative to trees in neotropical forests. As a result, forest dynamics and carbon balance may be altered through liana-induced suppression of tree growth and increases in tree mortality. Increasing atmospheric CO2 is hypothesized to be responsible for the increase in neotropical lianas, yet no study has directly compared the relative response of tropical lianas and trees to elevated CO2 . We explicitly tested whether tropical lianas had a larger response to elevated CO2 than co-occurring tropical trees and whether seasonal drought alters the response of either growth form. In two experiments conducted in central Panama, one spanning both wet and dry seasons and one restricted to the dry season, we grew liana (n = 12) and tree (n = 10) species in open-top growth chambers maintained at ambient or twice-ambient CO2 levels. Seedlings of eight individuals (four lianas, four trees) were grown in the ground in each chamber for at least 3 months during each season. We found that both liana and tree seedlings had a significant and positive response to elevated CO2 (in biomass, leaf area, leaf mass per area, and photosynthesis), but that the relative response to elevated CO2 for all variables was not significantly greater for lianas than trees regardless of the season. The lack of differences in the relative response between growth forms does not support the hypothesis that elevated CO2 is responsible for increasing liana size and abundance across the neotropics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David C Marvin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Álvarez-Cansino L, Schnitzer SA, Reid JP, Powers JS. Liana competition with tropical trees varies seasonally but not with tree species identity. Ecology 2015; 96:39-45. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1002.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leonor Álvarez-Cansino
- University of Wisconsin School of Freshwater Sciences, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Panama
| | - Stefan A. Schnitzer
- University of Wisconsin School of Freshwater Sciences, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Panama
| | - Joseph P. Reid
- University of Minnesota, Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant Biology, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Panama
- University of Minnesota, Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant Biology, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Liana Effects on Carbon Storage and Uptake in Mature and Secondary Tropical Forests. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND BIODIVERSITY 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-14592-1_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
47
|
Schnitzer SA, van der Heijden G, Mascaro J, Carson WP. Lianas in gaps reduce carbon accumulation in a tropical forest. Ecology 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/13-1718.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
48
|
Rios RS, Salgado-Luarte C, Gianoli E. Species divergence and phylogenetic variation of ecophysiological traits in lianas and trees. PLoS One 2014; 9:e99871. [PMID: 24914958 PMCID: PMC4051759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2013] [Accepted: 05/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The climbing habit is an evolutionary key innovation in plants because it is associated with enhanced clade diversification. We tested whether patterns of species divergence and variation of three ecophysiological traits that are fundamental for plant adaptation to light environments (maximum photosynthetic rate [Amax], dark respiration rate [Rd], and specific leaf area [SLA]) are consistent with this key innovation. Using data reported from four tropical forests and three temperate forests, we compared phylogenetic distance among species as well as the evolutionary rate, phylogenetic distance and phylogenetic signal of those traits in lianas and trees. Estimates of evolutionary rates showed that Rd evolved faster in lianas, while SLA evolved faster in trees. The mean phylogenetic distance was 1.2 times greater among liana species than among tree species. Likewise, estimates of phylogenetic distance indicated that lianas were less related than by chance alone (phylogenetic evenness across 63 species), and trees were more related than expected by chance (phylogenetic clustering across 71 species). Lianas showed evenness for Rd, while trees showed phylogenetic clustering for this trait. In contrast, for SLA, lianas exhibited phylogenetic clustering and trees showed phylogenetic evenness. Lianas and trees showed patterns of ecophysiological trait variation among species that were independent of phylogenetic relatedness. We found support for the expected pattern of greater species divergence in lianas, but did not find consistent patterns regarding ecophysiological trait evolution and divergence. Rd followed the species-level pattern, i.e., greater divergence/evolution in lianas compared to trees, while the opposite occurred for SLA and no pattern was detected for Amax. Rd may have driven lianas' divergence across forest environments, and might contribute to diversification in climber clades.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo S. Rios
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
| | | | - Ernesto Gianoli
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
- Departamento de Botánica, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|