Phenology of the Terrestrial Fern Community in a Tropical Dry Forest of Morelos, Mexico

Abstract

Phenological leaf characters of tropical ferns are often correlated with rainfall and temperature, especially in regions with pronounced dry and wet seasons. In this study, we describe the community- and species-level phenological patterns of leaf phenophases (young, non-fertile, fertile, senescent) of terrestrial ferns and their relationship with environmental variables in a Tropical Dry Forest over 15 months. At the community level, each phenophase was related to a different variable. The young phenophase was positively associated with precipitation, while non-fertile was positively associated with humidity, fertile was negatively associated with canopy cover, and senescent phenophase was not associated with any variable. At the species level, all fern species showed the peak leaf production of each phenophase in the rainy season. However, each phenophase was present during different periods of the rainy season; at the beginning, it was the young phenophase, in the middle, the non-fertile and fertile phenophase, and at the end, the senescent. Such phenological studies will help us understand how fern species change over time and modify their strategies, especially at the community level, in the face of imminent global climate change.