Phenology of tree species of tropical moist forest of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Phenological observations on tree species in tropical moist forest of Uttara Kannada district (13°55' to 15°31' Ν lat; 74°9' to 75°10' Ε long) during the years 1983-1985 revealed that there exists a strong seasonality for leaf flush, leaf drop and reproduction. Young leaves were produced in the pre-monsoon dry period with a peak in February, followed by the expansion of leaves which was completed in March. Abscission of leaves occurred in the post-monsoon winter period with a peak in December. There were two peaks for flowering (December and March), while fruit ripening had a single peak in May-June, preceding the monsoon rainfall. The duration of maturation of leaves was the shortest, while that of full ripening of fruits was the longest. Mature flowers of evergreen species lasted longer than those of deciduous species; in contrast the phenophase of ripe fruits of deciduous species was longer than that of evergreen species.

The influence of El Niño and edge effects on the reproductive phenology and floral visitors of Eschweilera tetrapetala Mori (Lecythidaceae), an endemic species of the Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil

“…As in many tropical species that produce flowers coinciding with increases in solar radiation, temperature, and photoperiod (Bhat 1992;Wright & Schaik 1994;Talora & Morellato 2000;Marchioretto et al 2007), E. tetrapetala flowering showed correlations with solar radiation and photoperiod in some study years, but not with temperature. E. tetrapetala altered its flowering period to accompany rainfall oscillations provoked by the El Niño phenomenon.…”

Phenology of tropical understory trees: patterns and correlates

“…Community-level surveys of plant phenology in the wet tropics have mainly focused on canopy trees (Newstrom et al 1991, Bhat 1992, Berlin et al 2000, Sakai 2002, Anderson et al 2005, Haugaasen & Peres 2005, Brearley et al 2007, Cannon et al 2007, with little attention paid to woody plants of the forest understory. However, the phenology of understory trees is of great relevance to understanding tropical plant-animal interactions, especially mutualisms between pollinating and seed-dispersing vertebrates and the plants they feed on.…”

Assessment of vegetative Phenology with respect to leaf elongation pattern of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata in Hajambro creek, Indus delta, Pakistan

“…The information on phenology is useful in predicting the interactions of plants and animals to the changing environment [2]. Phenological events can be assessed directly not only through observation but also through indirect evidence, e.g.…”

“…from litter fall, if the possible time lag between formation and shedding of plant organs is known. Phenological research on vegetative developments of mangroves, such as leaf emergence and loss on leafy shoots, allow for estimates of leaf turnover and leaf longevity [2,3,4,5].…”