Bird’s nest fern epiphytes facilitate herpetofaunal arboreality and climate refuge in two paleotropic canopies

Seidl, Christa M.; Basham, Edmund W.; Andriamahohatra, Lydou R.; Scheffers, Brett R.

doi:10.1007/s00442-019-04570-2

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…These drastic changes in microclimatic conditions are not only due to tree removal, but at a finer resolution also to epiphyte loss. Indeed, epiphytes represent a significant functional group for microclimate dynamics in tropical forests, reducing water loss through evaporative drying (Scheffers, Phillips, et al, 2014) and providing buffered microhabitats for canopy‐dwelling organisms (Seidl et al, 2020; Figure 3, arrow K).…”

Section: How Will Macroclimate Warming Affect Forest Microclimates?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest microclimates and climate change: Importance, drivers and future research agenda

Frenne

Lenoir

Luoto

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Forest microclimates contrast strongly with the climate outside forests. To fully understand and better predict how forests' biodiversity and functions relate to climate and climate change, microclimates need to be integrated into ecological research. Despite the potentially broad impact of microclimates on the response of forest ecosystems to global change, our understanding of how microclimates within and below tree canopies modulate biotic responses to global change at the species, community and ecosystem level is still limited. Here, we review how spatial and temporal variation in forest microclimates result from an interplay of forest features, local water balance, topography and landscape composition. We first stress and exemplify the importance of considering forest microclimates to understand variation in biodiversity and ecosystem functions across forest landscapes. Next, we explain how macroclimate warming (of the free atmosphere) can affect microclimates, and vice versa, via interactions with land‐use changes across different biomes. Finally, we perform a priority ranking of future research avenues at the interface of microclimate ecology and global change biology, with a specific focus on three key themes: (1) disentangling the abiotic and biotic drivers and feedbacks of forest microclimates; (2) global and regional mapping and predictions of forest microclimates; and (3) the impacts of microclimate on forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the face of climate change. The availability of microclimatic data will significantly increase in the coming decades, characterizing climate variability at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales relevant to biological processes in forests. This will revolutionize our understanding of the dynamics, drivers and implications of forest microclimates on biodiversity and ecological functions, and the impacts of global changes. In order to support the sustainable use of forests and to secure their biodiversity and ecosystem services for future generations, microclimates cannot be ignored.

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Section: How Will Macroclimate Warming Affect Forest Microclimates?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest microclimates and climate change: Importance, drivers and future research agenda

Frenne

Lenoir

Luoto

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

534

353

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“…The temperature regulation by TBEs also depends on the dominant microclimate in each forest. For instance, temperature measurements in bird's nest ferns in Madagascar were 4.4°C colder than the daily maximum recorded under the same forest canopy, but there were no differences when comparing the minimum temperature in ferns with the daily minimum (Seidl et al 2020). It is likely that in the warm conditions of Madagascar, the temperature at night is not low enough to be different from that measured in the TBE.…”

Section: Pers)mentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals also use TBE, yet the potential importance of TBE as a resource or microhabitat for vertebrates is virtually unknown. Amphibians and reptiles are poikilotherms that benefit from the microclimatic control exerted by TBE (Scheffers et al 2014;Seidl et al 2020). Even large reptiles can benefit from TBE.…”

Section: Influence Of Trash-basket Epiphytes On Forest Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, arboreal soil accumulation and decomposition in situ can take a long time due to the low percentage of debris retained by trees (Nadkarni and Matelson 1991). Accordingly, TBE adaptations to enhance litter capture and retentionincluding their own decaying tissuesmay accelerate arboreal soil formation and thus contribute to structuring ecological communities in the canopy by enhancing nutrient availability at the attachment point of each TBE (Hsu et al 2002), ameliorating water and temperature stress (Turner and Foster 2006;Jian et al 2013;Seidl et al 2020), or providing shelter to microbes, invertebrates, and vertebrates that contribute to debris decomposition and nutrient cycles (Figure 1; Paoletti et al 1991;Ellwood and Foster 2004;Karasawa and Hijii 2006b;Ortega-Solís et al 2017;Donald et al 2017;Seidl et al 2020;Donald et al 2020). The influence of TBE on biodiversity and canopy ecosystem functions varies by forest type and scale of analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trash-basket epiphytes as secondary foundation species: a review of their distribution and effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions

Ortega‐Solís

Mellado‐Mansilla

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Secondary foundation species (FS) are organisms that inhabit ecosystems structurally defined by a primary foundation species, providing additional structure to habitats and communities. Trash-basket epiphytes (TBE) are secondary FS that enhance arboreal soil accumulation, providing shelter to animals, and rooting sites for plants. While their importance may vary across biomes, TBE have been overlooked as drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Here, we discuss the prevalence of TBE across biomes, their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and future research directions. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review of articles, books and theses and collated and synthesised information about the taxonomic distribution of TBE, their effects on ecosystem functions, and reports of plant-animal and plant-plant interactions. Then, we analysed the global distribution of TBE using a generalized linear model and summarised two studies to assess their effects on soil invertebrates. Results: We identified 120 publications describing 209 species of TBE. Most TBE belong to Araceae (43%), Polypodiaceae (23%), and Orchidaceae (14%) and occur in all tropical and southern temperate forests. TBE richness peaks in the South-American Pacific mangroves, Eastern Cordillera Real, and the Napo moist forests. TBE effects on ecosystem functions include arboreal soil accumulation, water retention and temperature regulation in the canopy, and nutrient leaching through stem-flow. TBE provide shelter to species in more than 97 animal families, including from invertebrates to mammals, while 72 vascular plants have been reported to root in arboreal soil of TBE. Conclusions: TBE are a compelling group of model organisms that can be used to study ecological processes such as facilitation cascades, niche construction, extended phenotypes, or the effects of secondary FS on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. TBE should also be included in forest management plans to enhance the availability of microhabitats in the canopy supporting its associated flora and fauna.

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“…Vascular epiphytes, which represent around 10 % of the world's flowering plants (Zotz, 2013), are an important part of ecosystems because they increase biodiversity by intervening in water and nutrients cycles, and by providing important sources of food, water, and shelter for numerous organisms (Díaz et al, 2012;Van Stan and Pypker, 2015;Brandt et al, 2017;Seidl et al, 2020). Given the complexity and quality they provide to their habitats; they are considered secondary foundation species (Angelini and Silliman, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vascular Epiphytes: The Ugly Duckling of Phenological Studies

Martínez¹,

Mondragón²,

García³

2021

Acta biol. Colomb.

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The phenology of vascular epiphytes, which represent account for about 10 % of the world’s flowering plants and perform important ecological functions, has been just partially explored. Since phenology is a key tool for the management and conservation of species, the objective of this review was to synthesize the information published so far about the phenology of vascular epiphytes, detect gaps of knowledge, and suggest future lines of investigation to understand the underlying mechanisms. We conducted an online search for articles in Google Scholar and in the ISI Web of Science database from 1800 to 2020, with different combinations of keywords. 107 studies addressing the phenology of different holo-epiphyte species were found; 88 % of the studies were performed in the Neotropic, especially in tropical and subtropical wet forests. The phenology of only ca.2% (418 spp.) of all reported epiphyte species has been explored. There is a bias toward the study of the flowering and fruiting phenology in members of the Orchidaceae (192 spp.) and Bromeliaceae (124 spp.) families. In general, the vegetative and reproductive phenology of epiphytes tends to be seasonal; however, there is a huge gap in our understanding of the proximate and ultimate factors involved. Future research should explicitly focus on studying those factors.

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Bird’s nest fern epiphytes facilitate herpetofaunal arboreality and climate refuge in two paleotropic canopies

Cited by 22 publications

References 62 publications

Forest microclimates and climate change: Importance, drivers and future research agenda

Forest microclimates and climate change: Importance, drivers and future research agenda

Trash-basket epiphytes as secondary foundation species: a review of their distribution and effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions

Vascular Epiphytes: The Ugly Duckling of Phenological Studies

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