Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants

Ding, Yi; Liu, Guangfu; Zhang, Jian; Lu, Xinghui; Huang, Jihong

doi:10.1038/srep19706

Cited by 72 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…By calculating light and VPD at fine scales, we were able to confirm the strong partitioning of the taxonomic groups over the light and humidity gradients, a phenomenon observed, often less directly, elsewhere (Wallace 1981;Th ery 2001;Wolf & Flamenco 2003;Cardel us et al 2006;Romanski et al 2011;Wagner et al 2013;Ding et al 2016). Furthermore, our results highlighted the niche separation of species within each taxonomic group.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

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The distribution of vascular epiphytes over gradients of light and humidity in north‐east Australian rainforest

Sanger

Kirkpatrick

2017

Austral Ecology

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Microclimatic conditions have a strong influence on the distribution of vascular epiphytes, among which orchids often occur in sunnier and more drought-prone situations than ferns. However, very few studies have looked at the distribution of ferns and orchids in Australian tropical rainforests. By using transmitted light measurements at the locations of individual epiphytes and vapour pressure deficit from the canopy and base of host trees, we were able to determine the patterns of light and humidity in the rainforest environment, and the responses of ferns and orchids to variation in the physical environments. We surveyed five sites, ranging from 800 to 1180 m in elevation in the lower montane rainforests of north-east Australia. Data loggers recorded the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) at the forest floor and canopy of each site. Light was correlated with height within the host tree and VPD differed significantly over position in the host tree and elevation. There was a strong partitioning of taxonomic groups over the light and VPD gradients. Orchids occurred in environments that had higher mean light levels and mean daily maximum VPD (27% and 0.43 kPa, respectively) than ferns (21% and 0.28 kPa). There was also strong microclimatic partitioning of species within taxonomic groups, suggesting that microclimatic factors play an important role in the realized niche spaces of epiphytes within the tropical Australian rainforest. Thus, the tested ecological generalizations made on tropical rainforest epiphytes apply in Australia.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…Light and VPD only partially explain the composition of vascular epiphytes (Benzing 1990;Ding et al 2016). This may be due to the fern species having a wider distribution over the light and VPD gradient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of vascular epiphytes over gradients of light and humidity in north‐east Australian rainforest

Sanger

Kirkpatrick

2017

Austral Ecology

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“…These areas present greater availability of niches provided by forest stratification (from shrubs, treelets and trees in the understory to large trees in the upper canopy), thus offering greater heterogeneity of micro-habitats used for epiphyte colonization. The occurrence of large trees and favorable climatic factors (high humidity and mild temperatures) have been reported as the main factors related to the high diversity of epiphytes in the tropical region (Woods et al 2015;Zhao et al 2015;Ding et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vascular epiphytes are a well-known feature in tropical and subtropical rainforests and are important floristic, structural and functional components of these ecosystems (Gentry & Dodson 1987;Krömer et al 2007;Ding et al 2016), thus representing approximately 9% of the world's vascular flora (Zotz 2013). The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest is recognized as one of the five most important world hotspots (Myers et al 2000), where vascular epiphytes represent approximately 15% (2.256 species) of the known vascular plants (Freitas et al 2015) from this domain, with greater richness and endemism located in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo (Menini .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vascular epiphytes in the Grumari restinga, RJ: floristic and similarities between restingas in Eastern Brazil

et al. 2017

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The community of vascular epiphytes in the Grumari restinga, Rio de Janeiro state, was evaluated through surveys carried out in 2014 and supplemented with herbarium material and publications. Thirty-seven (37) vascular epiphyte species were recorded, distributed in 21 genera and six families. The richest families are Orchidaceae and Bromeliaceae, which are the most representative ones (67.6% of all record species). The richness in Grumari restinga is greater than the other inventories carried out in the coastal plain of the Southeastern Region of Brazil, however, lower than that of restingas for São Paulo, Paraná and of the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul. The most representative ecological category was the characteristic holoepiphyte (62%); it was followed by the facultative and accidental holoepiphytes (18% each). The Grumari restinga shares more species with Espírito Santo state and Rio de Janeiro than with São Paulo and Southern Region of Brazil, possibly due to the geographical distance. Our study provides the first contribution to the knowledge about the epiphytic flora in Grumari restinga and shows a singular flora with 40% of unique species occurring in this location, fact that justifies its importance as conservation area. Key words: Atlantic domain, coastal vegetation, conservation, flora, taxonomy. ResumoA comunidade de epífitas vasculares ocorrente na restinga de Grumari, estado do Rio de Janeiro, foi avaliada através de coletas realizadas no ano de 2014 e complementadas com materiais de herbários e publicações. 37 espécies de epífitas vasculares foram registradas, distribuídas em 21 gêneros e seis famílias. As famílias mais ricas são Orchidaceae e Bromeliaceae, que foram as mais representativas (67,6% de todas as espécies registradas). A riqueza na restinga de Grumari é maior do que os outros inventários realizados na planície costeira do Sudeste do Brasil, no entanto, inferior as restingas de São Paulo, Paraná e da planície costeira do Rio Grande do Sul. A categoria ecológica mais representativa foi a holoepífita característica (62%) seguida por holoepífitas facultativas e acidentais com 18% cada. A restinga de Grumari possui mais espécies em comum com as restingas do Espírito Santo e Rio de Janeiro do que com São Paulo e região Sul do Brasil, possivelmente em função da distância geográfica. Nosso estudo traz a primeira contribuição ao conhecimento da flora epifítica da restinga de Grumari e evidencia uma flora singular com 40% das espécies exclusivas dessa localidade, o que justifica sua importância como Unidade de Conservação. Palavras-chave: Domínio Atlântico, vegetação costeira, conservação, flora, taxonomia.

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“…Tree dissection, although laborious, is the most exhaustive method as it allows collection of the many species that nest cryptically inside epiphytes and twigs (Klimes 2017). This is especially problematic at higher elevations, where epiphytes become more common (Ding et al 2016). This is especially problematic at higher elevations, where epiphytes become more common (Ding et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary succession has surprisingly low impact on arboreal ant communities in tropical montane rainforest

et al. 2019

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Understanding forest regeneration processes is increasingly important as disturbed forests spread rapidly in tropical landscapes. While successional dynamics are relatively well-understood for plants, they remain poorly known for tropical insects, particularly in montane rainforests and tree canopies. We studied the effect of montane forest succession on arboreal ant communities in New Guinea near their natural elevational limit (1800 m a.s.l.). We censused ant species and nests in replicated 0.1-ha plots of primary, old and young secondary forests, destined to be felled for gardens by the local landowners. Overall, 1249 felled trees were dissected for all ant-associated microhabitats. We used rarefaction-based models manipulating vegetation structure and multivariate randomizations to assess the effects of tree density, tree size, and nesting microhabitats on the ant communities. We expected increased ant species diversity, microhabitat specialization, and species turnover among trees throughout the succession, with distinct community composition among the stages. In contrast to our expectations, ant species composition and diversity per plot did not change during succession, and species similarity among trees was significantly higher only in old secondary forest. The number of ant species per tree increased with forest age, but trees of similar size hosted only slightly more species in primary than secondary forests. Many ant species were associated with particular nesting microhabitats; however, the same microhabitat types occurred in all stages and thus did not generate successional trends in ant communities. Secondary succession had an unexpectedly low impact on tree-dwelling ant communities in this montane ecosystem, in contrast with our previous findings from lowland rainforests. These results highlight the need to study successional processes along entire elevational gradients, as montane taxa may react differently to vegetation changes than their lowland counterparts.

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Distribution of vascular epiphytes along a tropical elevational gradient: disentangling abiotic and biotic determinants

Cited by 72 publications

References 42 publications

The distribution of vascular epiphytes over gradients of light and humidity in north‐east Australian rainforest

The distribution of vascular epiphytes over gradients of light and humidity in north‐east Australian rainforest

Vascular epiphytes in the Grumari restinga, RJ: floristic and similarities between restingas in Eastern Brazil

Secondary succession has surprisingly low impact on arboreal ant communities in tropical montane rainforest

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