Leaf, Stem, and Metamer Characteristics of Vines in a Tropical Deciduous Forest in Jalisco, Mexico

Castellanos, Alejandro E.; Mooney, Harold A.; Bullock, Stephen H.; Jones, Cynthia S.; Robichaux, Robert H.

doi:10.2307/2388440

Cited by 44 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…From the point of light harvesting, density of liana leaves of 1 m 2 m -3 on the uppermost canopy can also be expressed as an average projected LAI of 1 m 2 m -2 . Therefore, even in a liana-dominated canopy envelope, liana leaves are arranged in a monolayered canopy ) to avoid self-shading, which produces sharp gradients within the liana canopy (Avalos et al 2007). On the contrary, tree leaves in the top canopy are more randomly oriented in order to allow light penetration to lower parts of the crown and to minimise mutual shading (Kull andTulva 2002, Avalos et al 2007).…”

Section: Supporting Twigs and Leaf Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimisation of spatial allocation patterns in lianas compared to trees used for support

Kazda

Miladera

Salzer

2008

Trees

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There are only limited possibilities to study the competition between trees and lianas in the top canopy of tropical rain forests. Furthermore, the important question how the leaf traits are related to twig support is rarely studied, especially regarding growing space partitioning between the self-supporting and the climbing growth form. Our study used the hot-air balloon within the ''Operation Canopee'' in the Masoala National Park, Madagascar, to test the differences in spatial allocation patterns of leaves and twigs in lianas and tree parts used for support. The sampling design emphasised to obtain a common assembly of twigs and leaves from both, trees and lianas. The results from the top canopy were compared to the data from the understorey regarding biomass and nutrients in leaves and distal twigs. In the understorey the reduction in structural investment was much stronger in lianas than in trees. The results showed that lianas reduced carbon investment per volume, but increased leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf area ratio (LAR), the latter driven by a reduction in leaf mass per area (LMA). In the top canopy, lianas contributed about one third of the leaf area density of 3 m 2 m -3 . For distal twigs, no relationship was found between twig biomass per volume and leaf area density for trees, but lianas balanced both structural parameters closely. The climbers benefit from the external support provided by the trees and optimise the area of assimilation tissue at low per volume investment for mechanical stability. Several traits such as low LMA and high leaf nitrogen concentrations together with higher LAR and optimised spatial investment advantage the climbing growth form and enable a fast acquisition of growing space. The results emphasize the necessity to consider spatial and structural features of growing space acquisition when dealing with plant competition.

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Section: Supporting Twigs and Leaf Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimisation of spatial allocation patterns in lianas compared to trees used for support

Kazda

Miladera

Salzer

2008

Trees

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“…These characteristics enable the species with slow growth rate to grow in sites with low resource availability (e.g., shade conditions) such as the forest understory (Bazzaz 1979;Denslow 1980;Augspurger 1984). The species with the slowest growth (Celaenodendron mexicanum) (RincoÂ n and Huante 1988; , is a drought (Martijena and Bullock 1994) and low-nutrient resistant species ; it has thick leaves (low SLA) that are more coriaceous (96.5 g m A2 ) than leaves of other species from the tropical deciduous forest (22±87 g m A2 , n 15 species) (Castellanos et al 1989) and with high concentrations of secondary metabolites such as terpenes and avonoids (CastanÄ eda et al 1992), which may suggest a plant investment in defenses against herbivory. In the understory, survivorship may depend more on preventing herbivory and pathogen damage than on maintaining high photosynthetic and growth rates (Kitajima 1994).…”

Section: Contrasting Light Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses to light changes in tropical deciduous woody seedlings with contrasting growth rates

Huante

Rincón

1997

Oecologia

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We evaluated the responses in growth, biomass allocation, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, to changes in light in woody seedlings from the tropical deciduous forest in Mexico, which shows a highly seasonal rain pattern. We studied ten species, which differed by 30-fold in relative growth rate (RGR). We analyzed plant growth in two contrasting light levels during 52 days and two transfers: from high to low (HL) and from low to high (LH) light intensity, and the respective controls in high (HH) and low (LL) light for another 52 days. The photosynthetic capacity (A ) and stomatal conductance were measured at the day of the transfer between light conditions and at the end of the experiment. Species with high RGR showed the largest changes in RGR in response to contrasting light conditions (HH/LL ratio), and species with low RGR showed low responses. The fast-growing species were the most plastic, followed by species with intermediate growth rates, with the slow-growing species being the least plastic. Fast-growing species achieved higher maximum photosynthetic capacities (A) and stomatal conductance and higher response to light than slow-growing species. Species with high RGR showed a low RGR HH/LH ratio, suggesting a large response of L plants when transfered to H. The RGR of the species were associated with species specific leaf area and with the response in the leaf area, net assimilation rate and leaf weight ratio, suggesting the importance of the leaf area produced and the leaf characteristics rather than root:shoot ratio in determining RGR. Considering that seed germination is expected at the beginning of the rainy period, seedlings of most of the species will experience high-light conditions during its early growth. There are large annual variations in the time required for canopy closure (35-75 days). The influence of these variations may have different effect on the species studied. Species with intermediate growth rate and intermediate response to light changes were less affected by light reduction than fast-growing species. The intermediate-RGR species Caesalpiniaeriostachys is the most abundant and widely distributed species, perhaps this could be in part due to its ability to acclimate to both light increases and decreases. The fast-growing species studied here can be found in open sites in the forest and in areas cleared for pasture growth. These fast-growing species eventually reach the canopy, although this may require several canopy openings during their lives, which implies juvenile shade tolerance. In the tropical deciduous forest juvenile pioneer trees also benefit from the temporary high light available caused by the dry period during the rainy season. The slow-growing species Celaenodendronmexicanum forms small patches of monospecific forest; the adult trees are not completely deciduous, and they retain their old leaves for a long time period before shedding. Thus seedlings of this species may receive lower levels of light, in agreement with its shade tolerance and its lower response to ...

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“…For example, in their climbing form, lianas rely on other vegetation as trellises to gain access to the canopy, and thus they typically invest proportionally less resources into woody stem tissue than trees, and proportionally more resources toward leaves and roots (Putz 1983, Suzuki 1987, Castellanos et al 1989, Niklas 1994, Gerwing and Farias 2000, Ha¨ttenschwiler 2002, Santiago and Wright 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lianas always outperform tree seedlings regardless of soil nutrients: results from a long‐term fertilization experiment

Pasquini

Wright

Santiago

2015

Ecology

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bstract. Lianas are a prominent growth form in tropical forests, and there is compelling evidence that they are increasing in abundance throughout the Neotropics. While recent evidence shows that soil resources limit tree growth even in deep shade, the degree to which soil resources limit lianas in forest understories, where they coexist with trees for decades, remains unknown. Regardless, the physiological underpinnings of soil resource limitation in deeply shaded tropical habitats remain largely unexplored for either trees or lianas. Theory predicts that lianas should be more limited by soil resources than trees because they occupy the quick-return end of the ''leaf economic spectrum,'' characterized by high rates of photosynthesis, high specific leaf area, short leaf life span, affinity to high-nutrient sites, and greater foliar nutrient concentrations. To address these issues, we asked whether soil resources (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), alone or in combination, applied experimentally for more than a decade would cause significant changes in the morphology or physiology of tree and liana seedlings in a lowland tropical forest. We found evidence for the first time that phosphorus limits the photosynthetic performance of both trees and lianas in deeply shaded understory habitats. More importantly, lianas always showed significantly greater photosynthetic capacity, quenching, and saturating light levels compared to trees across all treatments. We found little evidence for nutrient 3 growth form interactions, indicating that lianas were not disproportionately favored in nutrient-rich habitats. Tree and liana seedlings differed markedly for six key morphological traits, demonstrating that architectural differences occurred very early in ontogeny prior to lianas finding a trellis (all seedlings were self-supporting). Overall, our results do not support nutrient loading as a mechanism of increasing liana abundance in the Neotropics. Rather, our finding that lianas always outperform trees, in terms of photosynthetic processes and under contrasting rates of resource supply of macronutrients, will allow lianas to increase in abundance if disturbance and tree turnover rates are increasing in Neotropical forests as has been suggested.

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Leaf, Stem, and Metamer Characteristics of Vines in a Tropical Deciduous Forest in Jalisco, Mexico

Cited by 44 publications

References 25 publications

Optimisation of spatial allocation patterns in lianas compared to trees used for support

Optimisation of spatial allocation patterns in lianas compared to trees used for support

Responses to light changes in tropical deciduous woody seedlings with contrasting growth rates

Lianas always outperform tree seedlings regardless of soil nutrients: results from a long‐term fertilization experiment

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