Vascular Epiphyte Diversity Differs with Host Crown Zone and Diameter, but Not Orientation in a Tropical Cloud Forest
نویسندگان
چکیده
Vascular epiphytes are important components of biological diversity in tropical forests. We measured the species richness and abundance of vascular epiphytes along four vertical crown zones and five horizontal orientations on 376 trees, as well as the diameter at breast height (DBH) of host trees in tropical cloud forests in Bawangling, Hainan, China. The relationship between vascular epiphyte species richness and host tree DBH was assessed using a generalized linear model. There were 1,453 vascular individual epiphytes attributed to 9 families, 24 genera and 35 species, with orchids and pteridophytes dominating. Both the species richness and abundance of epiphytes significantly differed among the four crown zones for all collections and each host tree, suggesting that vertical microhabitats contribute to the distribution of epiphytes on host trees. Neither epiphyte abundance nor species richness differed among the eastern, southern, western, and northern orientations for all host trees; however, both richness and abundance were significantly higher for epiphytes that encircled host tree trunks. This suggests that morphological and physiological characteristics of the tree, but not microclimates probably contribute to the distribution of epiphytes on host trees. Epiphyte species richness was positively correlated with tree DBH across the six host tree species studied, with increases in DBH among smaller trees resulting in larger increases in richness, while increases in DBH among larger host trees resulting in more modest increases in ephiphyte richness. Our findings contribute support for a positive relationship between epiphyte species richness and host tree DBH and provide important guidance for future surveys of epiphyte community development.
منابع مشابه
Structure of the Epiphyte Community in a Tropical Montane Forest in SW China
Vascular epiphytes are an understudied and particularly important component of tropical forest ecosystems. However, owing to the difficulties of access, little is known about the properties of epiphyte-host tree communities and the factors structuring them, especially in Asia. We investigated factors structuring the vascular epiphyte-host community and its network properties in a tropical monta...
متن کاملExceptional Epiphyte Diversity on a Single Tree
An exhaustive survey of vascular epiphytes on a single mature canopy tree in a Costa Rican tropical premontane wet forest revealed an extraordinary level of epiphyte diversity. A total of 126 morphospecies representing at least 52 genera and 21 plant families were found growing epiphytically on the phorophyte (host tree), accounting for more than 1% of the entire vascular flora of Costa Rica. T...
متن کاملEpiphyte response to drought and experimental warming in an Andean cloud forest
The high diversity and abundance of vascular epiphytes in tropical montane cloud forest is associated with frequent cloud immersion, which is thought to protect plants from drought stress. Increasing temperature and rising cloud bases associated with climate change may increase epiphyte drought stress, leading to species and biomass loss. We tested the hypothesis that warmer and drier condition...
متن کاملHow diverse are epiphyte assemblages in plantations and secondary forests in tropical lowlands?
The on-going destruction of old-growth forests puts tropical forest species under great pressure because of the resulting loss of habitat. An important biotic component of these forests are vascular epiphytes, which structurally depend on trees. In human-modified landscapes potential hosts may still be present, e.g. in the form of isolated remnant trees, small groups of planted trees, in patche...
متن کاملDispersal limitation of Tillandsia species correlates with rain and host structure in a central Mexican tropical dry forest
Seed dispersal permits the colonization of favorable habitats and generation of new populations, facilitating escape from habitats that are in decline. There is little experimental evidence of the factors that limit epiphyte dispersion towards their hosts. In a tropical dry forest in central Mexico, we monitored the phenology of dispersion of epiphyte species of the genus Tillandsia; we tested ...
متن کامل