Abstract
The severity of the effects that large disturbance events such as hurricanes can have on the forest canopy and the associated mechanically dependent plant community (epiphytes, climbers, etc.) is dependent on the frequency and intensity of the disturbance events. Here we investigate the effects of different structural and environmental properties of the host trees and previously modelled past hurricanes on dependent plants in Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Tree-climbing methods were employed to sample different dependent life-forms in ten 150 × 150 m plots. We identified 7094 individuals of dependent plants from 214 different species. For holo- and hemi-epiphytes, we found that diversity was significantly negatively related to past hurricane impact. The abundance of dependent plants was greatly influenced by their position in tree canopy and hurricane disturbance regimes. The relationship between abundance and mean branch height shifts across a gradient of hurricane impact (from negative to positive), which might result from a combination of changes in abundance of individual species and composition of the dependent flora across sites. Mechanically dependent plants also responded to different structural and environmental conditions along individual branches. The variables that explained much of the community differences of life-forms and families among branches were branch surface area and bryophyte cover. The factors that explained most variation at a plot level were mean vapour pressure deficit and elevation. At the level of the individual tree, the most important factors were canopy openness and past hurricane impact. We believe that more emphasis needs to be placed on the effects that past disturbance events have on mechanically dependent plant communities, particularly in areas that are prone to catastrophic perturbations.
Highlights
Disturbance is an important driver in landscape community ecology and can be summarized as ‘. . . any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystems, community or population structure and changes resources, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company
Little is known on the long-term response of mechanically dependent plant communities that have been affected by multiple hurricane events. It is unclear how the diversity and distribution of these communities is altered along the vertical forest profile as a result of hurricane damage and the physical environment of the host tree. To answer these important questions, our study aims to investigate the responses of dependent plant community composition and diversity to different structural and environmental variables of the host tree, across a gradient of past hurricane impact
Stranglers were observed in Cusuco National Park (CNP) [Ficus (Moraceae), three species], none were found on the sampled trees
Summary
Disturbance is an important driver in landscape community ecology and can be summarized as ‘. . . any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystems, community or population structure and changes resources, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. Batke and Kelly — Past hurricane impact on forest canopy plants in Honduras classes (Tanner et al 2014), with associated alterations in micro-environmental conditions (Turton and Siegenthaler 2004). As many canopy-dwelling organisms are dependent on the forest canopy’s long-term structural and environmental stability (Sillett and Antoine 2004), severe, repetitive damage from hurricanes is likely to affect the long-term composition and persistence of forest communities (Raventos et al 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
