Floristic Composition and Natural History Characteristics of Dry Forests in the Pacific

Gillespie, Thomas W.; Keppel, Gunnar; Pau, Stéphanie; Price, Jonathan P.; Jaffré, Tanguy; Meyer, Jean Yves; O'Neill, Kristin

doi:10.2984/65.2.127

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This dominance of acquisitive strategies at lower precipitation could result from the selection of species with alternative leaf strategies, such as deciduity, resulting from drought constraints (Givnish, ; Santiago et al., ). However, there are no species known to be strictly deciduous in dry forest of New Caledonia (Gillespie et al., ), and we lack data on the frequency of semi‐deciduous trees in the New Caledonian flora to support this hypothesis (Gillespie et al., ; Morat, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

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Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Blanchard

Munoz

Ibanez

et al. 2019

J Vegetation Science

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Aim To understand how variations in precipitation and topographic wetness influence tree community assembly at both regional and landscape scales in tropical forests. Location New Caledonia (SW Pacific). Methods We sampled 40 tree communities in 0.04‐ha plots laid along topographic gradients within two landscapes with contrasting precipitation. Within a dry (<1,400 mm/year) and a wet (>2,500 mm/year) landscape we used the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) to sample communities in topographic position with low (e.g., ridges) and high (e.g., valleys) water accumulation. For each sampled species, we measured five functional traits involved in drought resistance and resource acquisition (wood density, leaf area, leaf specific area, leaf dry matter content, and leaf thickness). We first examined trait covariation across species. We then analysed how the functional composition of communities varied between landscapes (according to precipitation) and within landscapes (according to TWI), using trait‐based statistics and null models. Results We identified two ecological trade‐offs driving trait variation across species: (i) one opposing high hydraulic efficiency to drought resistance, related to a wood economic spectrum; and (ii) the other opposing resource acquisition to resource conservation, related to a leaf economic spectrum. Across landscapes, species with drought resistance strategies were favoured at lower precipitation. Within landscapes, drought resistant species were selected under low TWI in the dry landscape, while low TWI increased the abundance of species with conservative strategies in the wet landscape. Conclusions Precipitation and topography jointly shape the functional composition of tree communities. At low precipitation, hydric constraints prevailed on ridges and upslopes by filtering drought resistant strategies along the wood economic spectrum. Contrastingly, higher precipitation relaxed the hydric constraints and resource availability became a primary driver of changing strategies along the leaf economic spectrum. Thus, the landscape scale influence of topography on processes driving community assembly and functional composition critically depends on the regional climatic context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Caledonia (Gillespie et al, 2011), and we lack data on the frequency of semi-deciduous trees in the New Caledonian flora to support this hypothesis (Gillespie et al, 2011;Morat, 1993).…”

mentioning

confidence: 83%

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Blanchard

Munoz

Ibanez

et al. 2019

J Vegetation Science

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“…Although our study examines one habitat/ecosystem type (tropical dry forest) using relatively small samples (0.1 ha plots), our plots captured 54% of the total number of species estimated to occur in the tropical dry forests of these five archipelagos. There is very little overlap at the native species level among archipelagos, with no more than 10 species being shared between any of the regions (Gillespie et al ., ). Because plot‐level species diversity generally corresponded well to estimates of total species richness, our results suggest that it is possible to scale down to ‘alpha’ diversity or species richness samples in stands of forests on oceanic islands within specific archipelagos.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Scaling species richness and endemism of tropical dry forests on oceanic islands

Gillespie

Keppel

Pau

et al. 2013

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim We examine variation in woody plant species richness and endemism within tropical dry forest on oceanic islands and determine what climatic and biogeographic metrics best explain native species richness and endemism across archipelagos, islands and plots. Location Oceanic islands in the Pacific. Methods Stand‐level sampling (0.1 ha) at 35 different dry forest sites across 16 islands, and five archipelagos (New Caledonia, Fiji, Marquesas, Marianas and Hawaii). Descriptors of native species richness and endemism were calculated at the plot, island and archipelago level. Biogeographic and climate metrics at the archipelago, island and plot level were drawn from the literature and computer databases. The effects of biogeographic and climate metrics were investigated using linear mixed‐effects models. Results Dry forests of New Caledonia and Fiji had the highest native species richness, while New Caledonia and Hawaii had the highest endemism. Native species richness and endemism within tropical dry forests on oceanic islands are primarily influenced by biogeographic metrics, especially isolation of the archipelago, and not climatic metrics. Most variance in native species richness and endemism (60% and 64%) is at the archipelago level compared with the island (8%, 16%) and plot (32%, 15%) level. At the island level, species richness in tropical dry forest is affected by precipitation, while island area significantly affects endemism. The area of forest fragments is an important predictor of native species richness and endemism in plots. Main conclusions Although dry forests in the Pacific have been exceptionally deforested and degraded, high native species richness and endemism remains in a number of forest fragments. Biogeographic metrics explain most of the variance in native species richness and endemism across scales, while climatic metrics are important at the island level. First‐order assessments of native richness and endemism at the archipelago, island and stand‐level are possible for forest types on oceanic archipelagos.

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“…According to Mancera et al (2013), the dominance of a plant family is not just affected by the distribution agents in the environment. They suggest distribution patterns of other species, which affect, in turn, the conditions of physical surroundings, like the mimosoid stamens and fruits of the Leguminosae family which allow maximum pollination and dispersion (Carlquist 1974;Gillespie et al, 2011). The legume fruits in particular serve as food to a variety of reptiles and mammals in the forest and hence make them efficient seed dispersers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A preliminary checklist of vascular plants of Mt. Arayat National Park, Pampanga, Philippines

Suba¹,

Arriola²,

Alejandro³

2019

Biodiversity Journal

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The Mt. Arayat National Park (MANP) is one of the oldest national parks and protected areas in the Philippines. However, very few published studies have been carried out despite its speculated high potential of biodiversity. Therefore, this paper intends to provide a preliminary checklist of vascular plants in MANP with emphasis on their conservation status. Several floristic surveys were conducted in the South and North peaks of MANP. A total of 98 species belonging to 92 genera and 43 families were identified. Of them, Leguminosae was the largest family which contributed 10 species, followed by Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae with 7 species each. The most dominated genera were: Ficus with 3 species, and Artocarpus, Litsea, and Macaranga with 2 species each. Based on IUCN criteria and DENR records, a total of 10 species were threatened while only 8 were least concern and the rest were not evaluated. Among those threatened plants, Cycas riuminiana was the most notable due to its endemicity in MANP. The slash-and-burn farming was one the several threats witnessed in the mountain. Thus, this checklist is vital as it provides a scientific information on MANP's plant diversity and distribution which is a useful starting point for further ecological and bio-prospective research in the area.

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Floristic Composition and Natural History Characteristics of Dry Forests in the Pacific

Cited by 18 publications

References 27 publications

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Scaling species richness and endemism of tropical dry forests on oceanic islands

A preliminary checklist of vascular plants of Mt. Arayat National Park, Pampanga, Philippines

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