Vegetative and reproductive tree phenology of ecological groups in a tropical dry forest in central Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Background Tree phenology has been related to abiotic and biotic factors that trigger and regulate phenological patterns.
 Question We investigated whether tree species classified into ecological groups of species of successional status (late-, early-successional tree species) and seed dispersal mode (anemochory, autochory, zoochory) would display different phenological patterns.
 Study site and dates A tropical dry forest in eastern Mexico; November 2007 to September 2010.
 Methods We monthly recorded leaf fall, leafing, flowering, and fruiting in 165 trees belonging to 16 species tagged along a trail inside a forest fragment (21 ha). Monthly precipitation and temperatures data were obtained from the nearest meteorological station. Phenological periodicity was analyzed using circular statistics.
 Results Leaf fall occurred during the dry season and leafing at the beginning of the rainy season. Flowering at community level was not significantly cyclic because of differences within groups: late-successional and zoochorous species displayed a flowering peak during the rainy season, whereas the early-successional, anemochorous and autochorous species do during the dry season. Fruiting occurred over an extended period but showed a cyclic pattern: Late successional and zoochorous species fruited at the beginning of the dry season, whereas early-successional and autochorous species tend to displayed a peak of fruiting at mid-dry season and the anemochorous at the end of the dry season.
 Conclusions. Vegetative phenological patterns were similar at the levels studied and were clearly related to climatic variables. However, the phenological patterns of reproduction differed within tree ecological groups and were not consistently correlated with precipitation or temperature.

Phenology and dispersal syndromes of woody species in deciduous forest fragments of the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

“…The strongly seasonal vegetative activity, with leaf fall and leaf budding concentrated in the dry season, found here is similar to the pattern found by other studies conducted in deciduous forests around the world (Frankie et al1974;Reich & Borchert 1984;Morellato 1992;Justiniano & Fredericksen 2000;Singh & Kushwaha 2016;Williams-Linera & Alvarez-Aquino 2016). Previous studies in deciduous forests of Brazil also found marked seasonality, with clear leaf fall in the drier period of the year (Griz & Machado 2001;Ragusa-Netto & Silva 2007;Vasconcelos et al 2010;Dalmolin et al 2015).…”

“…Except for flower buds of anemochoric species and flowers at anthesis of zoochoric species from both areas, and flowers at anthesis of anemochoric species at SDF, flowering was related to all climatic variables, influencing the onset of phenophases months prior and in the month of their occurrence. The relationship between flowering and climatic factors has also been documented for other seasonal tropical ecosystems, such as the deciduous forests of Mexico (Cortés-Flores et al 2017), and the Cerrado (Batalha & Martins 2004;Pirani et al 2009;Azevedo et al 2014), and the pattern found by dispersal strategy is similar to that found by Williams-Linera & Alvarez-Aquino (2016). The species in these forests are mainly regulated by rainfall and soil water availability, which would be the main and essential causes of flowering by species at the community level, while the presence of pollinators and dispersers would play a small role in an environment poor in species and with the predominance of anemochoric seeds (Borchert et al 2004).…”

“…However, the time and intensity of phenophases in a community may differ due to intrinsic factors of a species (i.e. phylogenetic characteristics), as well as the ecological group to which it belongs (Ferraz et al 1999;Williams-Linera & Alvarez-Aquino 2016).…”

“…The classification of species into functional groups, such as dispersal syndromes, may help in the comparison of results for similar ecosystems and to understand the behaviors of a group of species (Valdez-Hernández et al 2010). Since seed dispersion is fundamental for the distribution and diversity of species in a community (Williams-Linera & Alvarez-Aquino 2016), fruiting may occur during the rainy season or at the end of the dry season, so that the diaspore develops in favorable environmental conditions (Janzen 1967;Frankie et al 1974;van Schaik et al 1993;Griz & Machado 2001;Williams-Linera & Alvarez-Aquino 2016). For example, in markedly seasonal ecosystems, zoochoric species show peak fruiting in the wettest season of the year (Cortés-Flores et al 2018).…”

Tree damage, growth and phenology after a hurricane in a tropical dry forest in Veracruz

“…The phenology of the forest was studied for three years before the hurricane (Williams-Linera and Álvarez-Aquino, 2016). Leafing patterns remained similar before and after the hurricane, but at community level, the defoliation caused by Hurricane Karl affected the seasonality timing of leaf fall and the community remained leafless for a month.…”