Lianas as Structural Parasites: The Bursera Simaruba Example

Stevens, George

doi:10.2307/1938806

Cited by 206 publications

(227 citation statements)

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“…Lianas have been shown to reduce tree recruitment, regeneration, and diversity (Schnitzer and Carson 2010), growth (Clark and Clark 1990, Grauel and Putz 2004, Ingwell et al 2010, reproductive output (Stevens 1987, Wright et al 2005, and survival (Putz 1984a, Phillips et al 2005, Ingwell et al 2010. Lianas may alter forest tree species composition by infesting slow growing species more frequently than fast growing species (Putz 1984b, Clark and Clark 1990, Schnitzer et al 2000, van der Heijden and Phillips 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correlative studies, however, do not exclude the possibility that an environmental factor both reduces canopy tree performance and results in higher liana density or that lianas more densely infest canopy trees with lower performance (Stevens 1987). Liana-cutting experiments solve this cause and effect problem, and liana-cutting experiments have demonstrated the negative impact of lianas on canopy tree performance (e.g., Pérez-Salicrup and Barker 2000, Grauel andPutz 2004, Schnitzer andCarson 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lianas have a greater competitive effect than trees of similar biomass on tropical canopy trees

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Lianas (woody vines) reduce growth and survival of host trees in both temperate and tropical forests; however, the relative strength of liana-tree competition in comparison to tree-tree competition remains unexplored. When controlling for biomass, lianas may have greater competitive effects than trees because the unique morphology of lianas allows them to reach the forest canopy at relatively small stem diameters and deploy a substantial crown above their host. We tested the hypothesis that lianas have a greater negative effect on canopy trees than do trees of similar biomass with a liana-and tree saplingcutting experiment in a seasonal tropical moist forest in Panama. The response of canopy trees to the cutting treatments was characterized as the change in their daily water use by measuring their sap velocity before and after cutting. We compared the responses of canopy trees around which a similar biomass of either lianas or tree saplings had been cut to control trees with no cutting. Liana cutting increased canopytree sap velocity by ;8% from before to after cutting relative to control trees during the dry season. In contrast, canopy-tree sap velocity did not respond to tree cutting, probably because trees with biomass similar to lianas were confined to the forest understory. We observed a similar pattern of sap velocity changes during the wet season, but treatment differences were not significant. Our results demonstrate that release from liana competition, but not tree competition, resulted in increased water transport in canopy trees, and suggests that relative to their biomass, lianas have greater competitive effects on canopy tree performance than do competing trees.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lianas have a greater competitive effect than trees of similar biomass on tropical canopy trees

et al. 2012

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“…Occasionally growing to Ͼ40 cm in diameter and several hundred meters in length, lianas exploit trees for physical support in order to reach the forest canopy. By creating structural stresses on trees and competing for light, moisture, and soil nutrients, lianas can reduce tree growth (Putz 1984, Whigham 1984, Pérez-Salicrup 1998 and reproduction (Stevens 1987), and increase rates of tree felling and limb breakage (Lowe and Walker 1977, Putz 1980. Lianas are diverse and abundant in many tropical forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rain Forest Fragmentation and the Structure of Amazonian Liana Communities

Laurance

Pérez‐Salicrup

Delamônica

et al. 2001

Ecology

159

241

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Abstract. In tropical forests, lianas (woody vines) are important structural parasites of trees. We assessed the effects of forest fragmentation, treefall disturbance, soils, and stand attributes on liana communities in central Amazonian rain forests. Over 27 500 liana stems (Ն2 cm diameter at breast height [dbh]) were recorded in 27 1-ha plots in continuous forest and 42 plots in 10 forest fragments ranging from 1 to 100 ha in area. For each plot, an index of forest disturbance was determined from a 20-yr study of tree-community dynamics, and 19 soil-texture and chemistry parameters were derived from soil surface samples (top 20 cm).Liana abundance was 187-701 stems/ha, and liana aboveground dry biomass varied from 3.7 to 12.3 Mg/ha. Liana abundance increased significantly near forest edges and was significantly positively associated with forest disturbance and significantly negatively associated with tree biomass. Liana biomass was similarly associated with disturbance and tree biomass but also increased significantly along soil-fertility gradients. Plots near forest edges had a significantly higher proportion of small (2-3 cm dbh) lianas and relatively fewer large (Ն4 cm dbh) lianas than did sites in forest interiors.Liana communities were further assessed by comparing their species richness, composition, climbing guilds, and frequency of tree infestation in three 10-ha fragments. Within each fragment, data were collected in 24 small (400-m 2 ) plots, with half of the plots near edges and half in interiors. Significantly more trees were infested on fragment edges than in interiors. All three major guilds (branch-twiners, mainstem-twiners, tendril-twiners) were significantly more abundant on edges. Species diversity of lianas (as measured by Fisher's diversity index) also was significantly higher on edges, and this was not simply an artifact of increased liana abundance on edges.We conclude that many aspects of liana community structure are affected by habitat fragmentation, and we suggest that lianas can have important impacts on forest dynamics and functioning in fragmented rain forests. By creating physical stresses on trees and competing for light and nutrients, heavy liana infestations appear partly responsible for the dramatically elevated rates of tree mortality and damage observed near fragment edges.

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“…But herbivores are apparently driven away by the scent of rotting flesh, so maybe stinky flowers are instead an herbivore deterrent (Lev-Yadun et al 2009). The colorful peeling bark of tropical trees in many plant families has been seen as an adaptation permitting photosynthesis of the living bark (Franco-Vizcaíno et al 1990), a mechanism to shed epiphytes and thereby reduce mechanical loads (Stevens 1987), or even as a attractant of fruit dispersers (McVaugh and Rzedowski 1965). MacColl (2010) details no less than six underdetermined adaptive explanations for the armor plates of sticklebacks.…”

Section: Just-so Storiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Study Adaptation (and Why To Do It That Way)

Olson¹,

Arroyo-Santos²

2015

The Quarterly Review of Biology

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Some adaptationist explanations are regarded as maximally solid and others fanciful just-so stories. Just-so stories are explanations based on very little evidence. Lack of evidence leads to circular-sounding reasoning: "this trait was shaped by selection in unseen ancestral populations and this selection must have occurred because the trait is present." Well-supported adaptationist explanations include evidence that is not only abundant but selected from comparative, populational, and optimality perspectives, the three adaptationist subdisciplines. Each subdiscipline obtains its broad relevance in evolutionary biology via assumptions that can only be tested with the methods of the other subdisciplines. However, even in the best-supported explanations, assumptions regarding variation, heritability, and fitness in unseen ancestral populations are always present. These assumptions are accepted given how well they would explain the data if they were true. This means that some degree of "circularity" is present in all evolutionary explanations. Evolutionary explanation corresponds not to a deductive structure, as biologists usually assert, but instead to ones such as abduction or induction. With these structures in mind, we show the way to a healthier view of "circularity" in evolutionary biology, and why integration across the comparative, populational, and optimality approaches is necessary.

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Lianas as Structural Parasites: The Bursera Simaruba Example

Cited by 206 publications

References 4 publications

Lianas have a greater competitive effect than trees of similar biomass on tropical canopy trees

Lianas have a greater competitive effect than trees of similar biomass on tropical canopy trees

Rain Forest Fragmentation and the Structure of Amazonian Liana Communities

How to Study Adaptation (and Why To Do It That Way)

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