Rolland Keller Identification of Tropical Woody Plants in the Absence of Flowers. A Field Guide second ed. 2004 Birkhaeuser Verl. Basel 340 pp., numerous colour photos and (botanical) line drawings, bibliography, index to genera and families, CH F 88.--/€58.-- [+VAT] (pb), ISBN 3-7643-6453-X

Abstract

Lianas (woody vines) have a critical role in ecosystem dynamics, especially in the tropics. At present, there is an increasing need to develop reliable methods to measure liana’s growth and age, given their suggested increase in abundance following deforestation events and climatic changes. Dendrochronological analyses offer powerful tools that provide temporal information for ecological studies at different scales, with the first step being the detection of distinct growth rings and compiling a list of species with this feature. Hence, this study offers a thorough list of lianas with distinct growth ring markers across both gymnosperm and angiosperm lianas, with and without cambial variants, from both north and southern hemispheres, based on global surveys, bibliographical references and our own collections. Lianas with distinct growth rings are common in species from both temperate and tropical regions. We found 530 lianas with distinct growth rings belonging to 74 families. Bignoniaceae, Celastraceae, Malpighiaceae, Menispermaceae, and Leguminosae are the families with more species listed. Thick-walled and/or radially flattened latewood fibres, semi-ring-porosity, marginal parenchyma, ring-porosity were the main anatomical markers delimiting growth rings in lianas. Future analyses evaluating the periodicity of growth ring formation, mainly in species with cambial variants, are the next step to advance dendroecological application in lianas.