Ficus Insipida Willd Research Articles

Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) Collected in the Canopy of a Dry Tropical Lowland Forest in Panama

This study characterizes the abundance and richness of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) collected in the canopy of a dry tropical lowland forest in Panama. The nine tree species sampled included Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Griseb. (Fabaceae), Pseudobombax septenatum (Jacq.) Dugand (Malvaceae), Luehea seemannii Triana & Planch. (Malvaceae), Cordia alliodora (Ruiz. & Pav.) Oken (Boraginaceae), Castilla elastica Sessé ex Cerv. (Moraceae), Anacardium excelsum (Bertero & Balb. ex Kunth) Skeels (Anacardiaceae), Cecropia peltata L. (Urticaceae), Zuelania guidonia (Sw.) Britton & Millsp. (Flacourtiaceae) and Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae). A total of 227 specimens of Cerambycidae and Disteniidae were collected. The most abundant species was Trestonia pulcherrima Dillon and Dillon, 1946 (23%), followed by Compsibidion vanum (Thomson, 1867) (16%). The greatest abundance and richness of beetles were recorded in the canopy of L. seemannii (90 individuals = 39%). The presence of these beetles in the forest canopy is associated with their general preference for large trees, highly complex foliar canopy architecture, and the availability of resources for the development and feeding of larvae and adults. Synchronization with plant phenology may explain the greater abundance and richness observed in L. seemannii.

Germinação de sementes e morfologia de plântulas de espécies pioneiras da várzea amazônica

As florestas de várzea estão sendo afetadas ao longo de séculos por diversas atividades antrópicas que põem em risco a integridade desse ecossistema, demandando estudos que propiciem sua conservação e restauração. O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar a morfologia de plântulas de três espécies pioneiras presentes na floresta de várzea do lago Catalão - AM: Cecropia latiloba Miq. (Urticaceae), Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) e Allophylus amazonicus (Mart.) Radlk. (Sapindaceae) como subsídio para criar ferramentas para sua identificação em campo. Para cada espécie foram coletadas sementes de três diferentes matrizes, as quais foram processadas e acondicionadas em bandejas para germinação em solo proveniente do local de coleta. Foram analisadas e descritas morfologicamente cada fase de desenvolvimento até a formação de plântulas e mudas. Nas três espécies, a germinação foi classificada como epígea e fanerocotiledonar, e todas apresentaram diferenças morfológicas nos cotilédones, eófilos e catáfilos, permitindo a separação visual das mesmas. Os resultados indicam que a morfologia foliar é uma importante ferramenta para auxiliar a identificação e diferenciação desde as fases iniciais do desenvolvimento das plântulas. Esse conhecimento pode subsidiar estratégias de manejo como a formação de banco de plântulas para a recuperação de áreas degradadas de várzea.

Why are tropical conifers disadvantaged in fertile soils? Comparison of Podocarpus guatemalensis with an angiosperm pioneer, Ficus insipida.

Conifers are, for the most part, competitively excluded from tropical rainforests by angiosperms. Where they do occur, conifers often occupy sites that are relatively infertile. To gain insight into the physiological mechanisms by which angiosperms outcompete conifers in more productive sites, we grew seedlings of a tropical conifer (Podocarpus guatemalensis Standley) and an angiosperm pioneer (Ficus insipida Willd.) with and without added nutrients, supplied in the form of a slow-release fertilizer. At the conclusion of the experiment, the dry mass of P. guatemalensis seedlings in fertilized soil was approximately twofold larger than that of seedlings in unfertilized soil; on the other hand, the dry mass of F. insipida seedlings in fertilized soil was ~20-fold larger than seedlings in unfertilized soil. The higher relative growth rate of F. insipida was associated with a larger leaf area ratio and a higher photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area. Higher overall photosynthetic rates in F. insipida were associated with an approximately fivefold larger stomatal conductance than in P. guatemalensis. We surmise that a higher whole-plant hydraulic conductance in the vessel bearing angiosperm F. insipida enabled higher leaf area ratio and higher stomatal conductance per unit leaf area than in the tracheid bearing P. guatemalensis, which enabled F. insipida to capitalize on increased photosynthetic capacity driven by higher nitrogen availability in fertilized soil.

Evaluation of Four Methods for Restoring a Degraded Swamp Forest

Swamp Forests occur in permanently wet soils, with specific ecosystem which contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and water resources. However, there are many gaps in knowledge about the restoration of these forests. The present study was conducted in a degraded wetland in the town of Mineiros do Tietê, located in the state of S?o Paulo, Brazil, in order to test the efficiency of four methods for restoring a Swamp Forest (small mound, acclimated seedling, dry season and conventional tillage), using six forest tree species typical of this type of forest: Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess., Citharexylon myrianthum Cham., Cedrela odorata L., Tapirira guianensis Aubl., Ficus insipida Willd. and Croton urucurana Baill. The least favorable methods for all plant species were: conventional and soil pit tillageindry seasons. Analyzing the plant species individually, the best results in descending order were: Croton urucurana Baill. (acclimated seedling tillage in dry season), followed by Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess. (insmall mounds), Citharexylon mirianthum Cham. (with acclimated seedlings), Ficus insipida Willd. and Tapirira guianensis Aubl. (insmall mounds). Cedrela odorata L. presented low performance in all conditions, probably because it suffered the Hypsipyla grandella Zeller. The results have been successful for the establishment of Swamp Forest restoration strategies.

Light-stimulated heat tolerance in leaves of two neotropical tree species, Ficus insipida and Calophyllum longifolium

Previous heat tolerance tests of higher plants have been mostly performed with darkened leaves. However, under natural conditions, high leaf temperatures usually occur during periods of high solar radiation. In this study, we demonstrate small but significant increases in the heat tolerance of illuminated leaves. Leaf disks of mature sun leaves from two neotropical tree species, Ficus insipida Willd. and Calophyllum longifolium Willd., were subjected to 15min of heat treatment in the light (500µmol photons m-2s-1) and in the dark. Tissue temperatures were controlled by floating the disks on the surface of a water bath. PSII activity was determined 24h and 48h after heating using chlorophyll a fluorescence. Permanent tissue damage was assessed visually during long-term storage of leaf sections under dim light. In comparison to heat treatments in the dark, the critical temperature (T50) causing a 50% decline of the fluorescence ratio Fv/Fm was increased by ~1°C (from ~52.5°C to ~53.5°C) in the light. Moreover, illumination reduced the decline of Fv/Fm as temperatures approached T50. Visible tissue damage was reduced following heat treatment in the light. Experiments with attached leaves of seedlings exposed to increasing temperatures in a gas exchange cuvette also showed a positive effect of light on heat tolerance.

Transpiration efficiency of a tropical pioneer tree (Ficus insipida) in relation to soil fertility

The response of whole-plant water-use efficiency, termed transpiration efficiency (TE), to variation in soil fertility was assessed in a tropical pioneer tree, Ficus insipida Willd. Measurements of stable isotope ratios (delta(13)C, delta(18)O, delta(15)N), elemental concentrations (C, N, P), plant growth, instantaneous leaf gas exchange, and whole-plant water use were used to analyse the mechanisms controlling TE. Plants were grown individually in 19 l pots with non-limiting soil moisture. Soil fertility was altered by mixing soil with varying proportions of rice husks, and applying a slow release fertilizer. A large variation was observed in leaf photosynthetic rate, mean relative growth rate (RGR), and TE in response to experimental treatments; these traits were well correlated with variation in leaf N concentration. Variation in TE showed a strong dependence on the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO(2) mole fractions (c(i)/c(a)); both for instantaneous measurements of c(i)/c(a) (R(2)=0.69, P <0.0001, n=30), and integrated estimates based on C isotope discrimination (R(2)=0.88, P <0.0001, n=30). On the other hand, variations in the leaf-to-air humidity gradient, unproductive water loss, and respiratory C use probably played only minor roles in modulating TE in the face of variable soil fertility. The pronounced variation in TE resulted from a combination of the strong response of c(i)/c(a) to leaf N, and inherently high values of c(i)/c(a) for this tropical tree species; these two factors conspired to cause a 4-fold variation among treatments in (1-c(i)/c(a)), the term that actually modifies TE. Results suggest that variation in plant N status could have important implications for the coupling between C and water exchange in tropical forest trees.

Critères de gestion dérivés de l’analyse de cernes pour Figus insipida Willd. (Moraceaea) dans des forêts inondables amazoniennes

Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) is a fast growing tree species of early successional stages in the Amazonian nutrient-rich white-water floodplains (varzea). The species is one of the most economically important low-density wood species in the community-based forest management project in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR) in Central Amazonia, where timber species are managed using a polycyclic selection system with a minimum logging diameter (MLD) of 50 cm and a cutting cycle of 25 years. In this study we analyze the floristic composition, stand structure and forest regeneration of a natural 20 year-old stand at an early successional stage and we model tree growth of diameter, height and volume of F. inspida based on tree-ring analysis to define management criteria. The volume growth model indicates that the preferred period for logging should be at a tree age of 17 years when the current annual volume increment peaks. This age corresponds to a diameter of 55 cm, which would be an appropriate MLD.

El género Ficus (Moraceae) en el estado de Morelos, México

El género Ficus (Moraceae) es un elemento característico de las zonas tropicales del mundo; en México se distribuye prácticamente en todo su territorio y en una amplia diversidad de hábitats. Con base en una revisión de bibliografía florístico-taxonómica y de los ejemplares de herbario provenientes del estado de Morelos, depositados en ENCB, HUMO, MEXU, MORE, UAMIZ y colectas botánicas adicionales, se reconocen ocho especies nativas de Ficus para esta entidad. Dos de ellas pertenecen al subgénero Pharmacosycea (Ficus insipida Willd. y F. maxima Mill.) y seis al subgénero Urostigma (F. cotinifolia Kunth, F. glycicarpa (Miq.) Miq., F. pertusa L.f., F. petiolaris Kunth, F. trigonata L. y Ficus sp.). Se incluye una clave de identificación para los subgéneros y especies, así como descripciones morfológicas detalladas y fotografías de cada una de estas últimas, con información sobre su distribución, hábitat, fenología y usos.

Disperser‐ vs. Establishment‐Limited Distribution of a Riparian Fig Tree (Ficus insipida) in a Costa Rican Tropical Rain Forest1

ABSTRACTStudies were conducted at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica and in a greenhouse in California to determine the factors accounting for the nonrandom distribution of the riparian fig tree Ficus insipida Willd. along streams in the La Selva Biological Reserve and adjacent deforested lands. We also evaluated the potential seed dispersers of this tree relative to the role of the fruit‐eating fish Brycon guatemalensis that previously was proposed to be an important disperser of F. insipida seeds in this system. At La Selva, we recorded the fig‐foraging activities of vertebrates at fruiting F. insipida trees, surveyed for the presence or absence of F. insipida along streams of different sizes, and determined the fate of fig seedlings transplanted in different riparian habitats. In the greenhouse, we measured seed germination and seedling survival and growth under different light and soil pH conditions mimicking natural conditions. The findings provided evidence that (1) the tree occurs along the larger streams running through forest habitat and only along smaller streams with relatively high light availability; (2) bats (Artibeus spp.) and fish are the major dispersers of F. insipida seeds; (3) the seedlings are subject to mortality not only from low light conditions but also from treefalls, frequent flooding, and bank erosion; and (4) high light levels and near neutral soil pH result in relatively better seed germination, faster growth, and higher survival rates of seedlings. Overall, our results suggest that this fig tree is dispersed mainly by bats and fish and is more establishment‐limited than disperser‐limited in its local distribution in the La Selva rain forest habitat.

Heat dissipation sensors of variable length for the measurement of sap flow in trees with deep sapwood.

Robust thermal dissipation sensors of variable length (3 to 30 cm) were developed to overcome limitations to the measurement of radial profiles of sap flow in large-diameter tropical trees with deep sapwood. The effective measuring length of the custom-made sensors was reduced to 1 cm at the tip of a thermally nonconducting shaft, thereby minimizing the influence of nonuniform sap flux density profiles across the sapwood. Sap flow was measured at different depths and circumferential positions in the trunks of four trees at the Parque Natural Metropolitano canopy crane site, Panama City, Republic of Panama. Sap flow was detected to a depth of 24 cm in the trunks of a 1-m-diameter Anacardium excelsum (Bertero & Balb. ex Kunth) Skeels tree and a 0.65-m-diameter Ficus insipida Willd. tree, and to depths of 7 cm in a 0.34-m-diameter Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Cham. trunk, and 17 cm in a 0.47-m-diameter Schefflera morototoni (Aubl.) Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin trunk. Sap flux density was maximal in the outermost 4 cm of sapwood and declined with increasing sapwood depth. Considerable variation in sap flux density profiles was observed both within and among the trees. In S. morototoni, radial variation in sap flux density was associated with radial variation in wood properties, particularly vessel lumen area and distribution. High variability in radial and circumferential sap flux density resulted in large errors when measurements of sap flow at a single depth, or a single radial profile, were used to estimate whole-plant water use. Diurnal water use ranged from 750 kg H2O day-1 for A. excelsum to 37 kg H2O day-1 for C. alliodora.

Effect of elevated CO2 and soil fertilization on whole-plant growth and water use in seedlings of a tropical pioneer tree, Ficus insipida Willd.

Summary Seedlings of the tropical pioneer tree species Ficus insipida were cultivated at present-ambient and elevated (about twice-ambient) CO 2 concentrations in open-top chambers located in a forest clearing near Panama City, Republic of Panama. To examine potential chamber-specific effects on growth and transpiration, plants were also studied outside chambers at ambient CO 2 levels. Plants were grown individually in 38 litre pots containing a mixture of soil and leaf litter, either in the absence or presence of a slow-release fertilizer. Data from three experiments, lasting 7 to 9 weeks each, are presented. Transpirational water loss of plants was determined gravimetrically. Fertilized plants grew more rapidly than unfertilized plants. Elevated CO 2 strongly enhanced biomass accumulation in fertilized plants. In unfertilized plants, elevated CO 2 enhanced growth in two experiments, but not in a third. Transpiration ratios (TR, g water lost: g dry mass accumulated) of plants grown in open-top chambers ranged from 176 (elevated CO 2 , plus fertilizer) to 336 (ambient CO 2 , minus fertilizer). The addition of fertilizer decreased TR by 15 to 20%, irrespective of the CO 2 concentration, and elevated CO 2 reduced TR by 27 to 35%, irrespective of whether fertilizer was present or not. The reduction in TR in response to elevated CO 2 was independent of whether biomass accumulation was enhanced by elevated CO 2 or not. In all experiments in which biomass accumulation was increased at elevated CO 2 , absolute water expenditure at elevated CO 2 was greater or similar to that at ambient levels – despite the lower TR at elevated CO 2 . In the single experiment in which elevated CO 2 did not lead to increased growth, the absolute water expenditure of plants was lower at elevated than at ambient CO 2 . There was no chamber effect on biomass accumulation, but TR of both fertilized and unfertilized plants was 19 to 31% higher inside compared to outside the open-top chambers.

Anthelmintic activity of the latex of Ficus species

The latex of some species of Ficus (Moraceae) has been traditionally used as vermifuge in Central and South America. It has been accepted that anthelmintic activity is due to a proteolytic fraction called ficin. In the present study, the anthelmintic activity of the latex of Ficus insipida Willd. and Ficus carica L. has been investigated in NIH mice naturally infected with Syphacia obvelata, Aspiculuris tetraptera and Vampirolepis nana. The latex of F. insipida, administered by intragastric route in doses of 4 ml/kg/day during three consecutive days, were effective in the removal of 38.6% of the total number of S. obvelata, being inexpressive in the removal of A. tetraptera (8.4%) and segments of V. nana (6.3%). The latex of F. carica, administered in doses of 3 ml/kg/day, during three consecutive days, was effective in the removal of S. obvelata (41.7%) and it did not produce significant elimination of A. tetraptera (2.6%) and V. nana (8.3%). The observed high acute toxicity with hemorrhagic enteritis, in addition to a weak anthelmintic efficacy, do not recommend the use of these lattices in traditional medicine.

Oxygen-dependent electron transport and protection from photoinhibition in leaves of tropical tree species.

The roles of photorespiration and the Mehlerperoxidase pathway in sustaining electron transport and protection from photoinhibition were studied in outer canopy leaves of two species of tropical trees: the drought-deciduous Pseudobombax septenatum (Jacq.) Dug. and the evergreen Ficus insipida Willd. Ficus had a higher photosynthetic capacity than Pseudobombax and also a greater capacity for light-dependent electron transport under photorespiratory conditions (in the absence of CO2). As a consequence, in the absence of CO2, Ficus was able to maintain a largely oxidized electron-transport chain at higher photon flux densities than Pseudobombax. Under the same light conditions, photoinhibition (reduction in Fv/Fm) was always greater in Pseudobombax than Ficus, was increased when leaves were exposed to 2% O2 in nitrogen compared to 21% O2 in CO2-free air, but was not increased by the absence of CO2. Rates of electron transport due to the Mehler-peroxidase pathway (assessed in 2% O2 in nitrogen) ranged between 16-40 μmol · m-2·s-1 in both species. As the dry season approached and Pseudobombax neared leaf senescence there was a decline in the capacity for photorespiratory flux to maintain electron transport in Pseudobombax, but not in Ficus. Ratios of light-dependent electron transport to net CO2 fixation for Pseudobombax, Ficus and two other species in the field, Luehea seemannii Tr. & Planch, and Didymopanax morototoni (Aubl.) Dec. & Planch., ranged from 6.2 (Ficus) to 16.7 (Pseudobombax). High in-situ rates of photorespiration combined with the decreased capacity of Pseudobombax for photorespiratory flux as the dry season approached indicates a decreased capacity to protect against photooxidative damage. This may contribute to the promotion of leaf senescence in Pseudobombax during the transition from wet to dry season.

High rates of photosynthesis in the tropical pioneer tree, Ficus insipida Willd.

Summary Diurnal courses of CO 2 and water-vapour exchange of canopy leaves of mature trees of Ficus insipida W illd . (Moraceae) were studied under natural conditions in the tropical dry forest of Parque Metropolitano near Panama City, Republic of Panama. Measurements were conducted from early January 1993 (dry season) until July 1993 (wet season). Rates of net CO 2 uptake were high throughout the study period, with up to 33.1 μmol m − 2 S −1 in the early dry season. During the dry season, gas exchange was characterized by strong reductions (“midday-depressions”) of net CO 2 uptake and stomatal conductance at noon. However, daily carbon gain and diurnal water-use efficiency of CO 2 uptake did not differ between seasons. East-exposed leaves that received direct sunlight during early morning hours showed higher CO 2 uptake rates and lost less water per CO 2 fixed than west-exposed leaves. As previously demonstrated for several canopy species from a tropical moist forest, the maximum rate of net CO 2 uptake was a good predictor of daily carbon gain.