How Diverse are Epiphyte Assemblages in Plantations and Secondary Forests in Tropical Lowlands?

Abstract

The ongoing destruction of old-growth forests puts tropical forest species under great pressure because of the resulting loss of habitat. An important biotic component of these forests are vascular epiphytes, which structurally depend on trees. In human-modified landscapes potential hosts may still be present, e.g. in the form of isolated remnant trees, small groups of planted trees, in patches of secondary forests, or in plantations. For this study, we assessed the potential of timber monocultures and secondary forest patches to function as refuges for vascular epiphytes. We studied epiphyte assemblages in teak and pine plantations and secondary forest patches of unknown age along a rainfall gradient (1100-4200 mm) at the Pacific coast of western Panama and also in a few oil palm plantations. Invariably, rainfall had the expected positive influence on epiphyte diversity and abundance. Individual-based rarefaction curves showed that species richness was significantly lower in timber and oil palm plantations compared to secondary forest patches, which in turn hosted less species-rich epiphyte assemblages than (cultivated and wild grown) pasture trees from the same study region. Our results suggest that the value of timber and oil palm plantations as refuges for vascular epiphytes in human-modified landscapes is limited. Secondary forest patches were more promising in that regard.

Dispersal and establishment of vascular epiphytes in human-modified landscapes

“…Although tree crowns in teak plantations apparently do not offer a more forest-like microclimate the environment they provide is not unsuitable for epiphytes. The results of a study assessing the epiphyte diversity of plantations and secondary forest patches in the same study region support this statement: some teak plantations hosted quite diverse epiphyte assemblages ( Einzmann and Zotz 2016 ). However, their value as epiphyte refuge is still debateable since timber plantations have short harvest rotation times (ca.…”

Epífitas vasculares da Estação Ecológica Barreiro Rico, Anhembi, SP, Brasil: diversidade, abundância e estratificação vertical

“…Em adição, a redução da riqueza por estes motivos também foi registrada em trabalhos realizados em ambientes com condições semelhantes (Dislich & Mantovani 1998, Breier 2005, Dettke et al 2008, Bataghin et al 2010, Einzmann & Zotz 2016.…”

Effects of forest‐use intensity on vascular epiphyte diversity along an elevational gradient

“…However, species with specific habitat requirements, such as shade‐ and humidity‐adapted understory orchids and ferns, might not be able to persist in highly disturbed forests (Krömer et al, ) and can only be protected in old‐growth forests. Furthermore, other forest‐ or land‐use types that maintain isolated trees or live fences where epiphytes can persist should be taken into account when developing conservation strategies (Einzmann & Zotz, ; Köster et al, ).…”