top of page

ARTICLE TITLE:

REFERENCE TYPE:

AUTHOR(S):

EDITOR(S):

PUBLICATION DATE:

PUBLICATION TITLE:

VOLUME:

PAGES:

ABSTRACT:

Liana abundance patterns: the role of ecological filters during development

Journal Article

Nogueira A; Costa FRC; Castilho CV

2011

Biotropica

43

442-449

We studied three different size classes of liana abundance representing proxies for three different life stages and aimed to identify the sequence of ecological filters that have led to current patterns of liana abundance. We tested the relationship between vegetation structure (including antagonistic support types) and soil texture on liana abundance using 40 plots (1 and 0.25 ha) set at least 1 km apart and distributed over 64 km2 in a Central Amazonian terra firme forest. Three support types were considered: palms thin trees and an index of vegetation structure. Liana size classes responded hierarchically to ecological filters: larger size classes were progressively less associated with the environmental variables while different aspects of vegetation structure were related to individual size classes. This hierarchical pattern suggests that selection mechanisms change throughout liana life cycles. Our results show that vegetation structure is an important predictor of liana abundance at a mesoscale and highlights the importance of considering the spatial structure in studies of tropical liana communities.

URL:

Support

1200px-Marquette_University_seal.png

The Liana Ecology Project is supported by Marquette University and funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

NSF_4-Color_bitmap_Logo.png
bottom of page