Dendrochronology of lianas of the Leguminosae family from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Abstract

Information about plant growth, development and age forms the basis for understanding complex forest ecological processes. Although lianas play an important role in tropical forests, little is known about their growth and development from either climatic or ecological perspectives. Therefore, we studied the growth rings in Legume liana species collected in a mountainous Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. Four of the eight studied species did not show cambial variants, three had a lobed stem, and one had a furrowed xylem. Distinct growth rings were observed in all species. Semi-ring porosity, marginal parenchyma, fibrous zone and radially flattened latewood cells were the main characteristic features of these growth rings. Species without cambial variants, including Dalbergia frutescens, Piptadenia adiantoides, P. micracantha and Senegalia tenuifolia, showed very distinct growth rings visible in macroscopic and microscopic analysis. Ring-width time series and cambial wound assessment were performed to analyze periodicity and dendrochronology. The species with cambial variants, S. grandistipula, S. lacerans, S. martiusiana and S. pedicellata, also showed distinct growth rings, however, sometimes barely detectable or not detected at all. Cambial wounding, cross-dating and climate-growth relationships indicated the annual nature of growth rings in species without cambial variant. Crossdating between radii within one individual and between individuals was successful, and the synchronized series enabled us to build species chronologies and a mean chronology. Climate-growth analysis revealed significant correlations between chronologies and precipitation, indicating that available moisture is the main factor determining growth rates of lianas in the Atlantic forest.

Liana anatomy: a broad perspective on structural evolution of the vascular system

“…In contrast to temperate regions, the main factor affecting cambial activity in tropical tree species is the seasonal dry periods (Worbes 1995) or floods in floodplains (Worbes 1985;Schöngart et al 2002). It was previously believed that growth rings of lianas were too irregular to have been produced annually (Schenck 1893); however, new analyses, including periodic sampling of stems (Léon-Gómez & Monroy-Ata 2005;Lima et al 2010;Lima 2012), dendrochronology (Heuzé et al 2009;Brandes et al 2011), and cambial wounding have demonstrated that growth rings are indeed annual and positively correlated with precipitation in the tropics.…”

Fire records in tree rings of Moquiniastrum polymorphum: potential for reconstructing fire history in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…In tropical regions many species are known to produce distinct growth rings with potential for dendroecological research (Worbes 2002;Brienen et al 2009;Rozendaal & Zuidema 2011). In the Atlantic Forest, growth ring research has helped to understand individual growth and species development, as well as the associated factors (Callado et al 2001;Brandes et al 2011;Andreacci et al 2014;Shimamoto et al 2014;Costa et al 2015). Dendrochronology offers a temporal and spatial record of fire disturbance that is useful for understanding historical ecologies in this complex biome.…”

Comparative phylogeography of eight herbs and lianas (Marantaceae) in central African rainforests

“…Here we investigate whether similar genetic patterns as so far detected in tropical African trees might also be found in perennial herbs and lianas from the forest understorey. We might expect that, compared to trees, phylogeographic patterns of herbs and lianas mirror younger historical events due to presumably shorter life cycles (Putz, 1990 ; Gerwing, 2004 ; Brandes et al, 2011 ). Furthermore, general patterns might be more structured in herbs than in trees (see e.g., G ST in nuclear markers in Nybom, 2004 ) due to a more patchy community structure and potentially smaller dispersal distances of pollinators and dispersers in the tropical understorey (for trees: <14 km, Ward et al, 2005 ; 100 m–100 km, Carbone et al, 1999 ; for understorey shrub: 10–20 m, Zeng et al, 2012 ).…”