Liana Species Research Articles

Chlorophyll fluorescence and initial growth of two liana species, Cuspidaria sceptrum (Cham.) L.G. Lohmann and Fridericia florida (DC) L.G. Lohmann, under changes of natural light conditions

The physiological alterations as well as the growth were evaluated in seedlings of two liana species, Cuspidaria sceptrum and Fridericia florida, which were transferred from shade to full sunlight conditions. We cultivated one group of seedlings under full sunlight, the second group under natural shade beneath canopy, and the third group was transferred from shade to full sunlight. Reductions on the potential quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) during predawn was detected under full sunlight, but these responses were more pronounced when the plants were transferred from shade to full sunlight. C. cuspidaria lost all leaves developed under shade a few days after transfer. However, at 60 d after transfer, new leaves were already developed and their Fv/Fm values were similar to full sunlight plants. F. florida was able to maintain its leaves after transfer and exhibited gradual recovery of Fv/Fm over time. The initial photoinhibition influenced growth responses of these liana species, in spite of their heliophyte character as adult plants.

Global Succulent Biome phylogenetic conservatism across the pantropical Caesalpinia Group (Leguminosae).

The extent to which phylogenetic biome conservatism vs biome shifting determines global patterns of biodiversity remains poorly understood. To address this question, we investigated the biogeography and trajectories of biome and growth form evolution across the Caesalpinia Group (Leguminosae), a clade of 225 species of trees, shrubs and lianas distributed across the Rainforest, Succulent, Temperate and Savanna Biomes. We focused especially on the little-known Succulent Biome, an assemblage of succulent-rich, grass-poor, seasonally dry tropical vegetation distributed disjunctly across the Neotropics, Africa, Arabia and Madagascar. We reconstructed a time-calibrated phylogeny, assembled species occurrence data and assigned species to areas, biomes and growth forms. These data are used to estimate the frequency of transcontinental disjunctions, biome shifts and evolutionary transitions between growth forms and test for phylogenetic biome conservatism and correlated evolution of growth forms and biome shifts. We uncovered a pattern of strong phylogenetic Succulent Biome conservatism. We showed that transcontinental disjunctions confined within the Succulent Biome are frequent and that biome shifts to the Savanna, Rainforest and Temperate Biomes are infrequent and closely associated with shifts in plant growth forms. Our results suggest that the Succulent Biome comprises an ecologically constrained evolutionary arena spanning large geographical disjunctions across the tropics.

Flora of Pernambuco, Brazil: Tabebuia alliance and tribe Jacarandeae (Bignoniaceae)

Abstract: Bignoniaceae is a Pantropical plant family that includes 82 genera and 830 species of trees, lianas, and shrubs. The Tabebuia alliance (14 genera and 147 species) and tribe Jacarandeae (2 genera and 50 species) are both Neotropical and represent the largest clades of trees and shrubs in the family. Here, we present a taxonomic treatment for these two clades for the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Overall, we documented 23 species distributed in seven genera, i.e., Cybistax Mart. ex Meisn., Godmania Hemsl., Jacaranda Juss., Handroanthus Mattos, Sparattosperma Mart. ex Meisner, Tabebuia Gomes ex DC., and Zeyheria Mart. Six taxa are new records for the state, i.e., Cybistax antisyphilitica (Mart.) Mart., Handroanthus capitatus (Bureau & K. Schum) Mattos, Handroanthus umbellatus (Sond.) Mattos, Jacaranda cuspidifolia Mart., Sparattosperma catingae A.H. Gentry, and Tabebuia stenocalyx Sprague & Stapf. Furthermore, S. catingae, previously thought to be endemic to the Caatinga of Bahia, was documented for the first time in the Atlantic Forest domain. We present identification keys and taxonomic descriptions for all genera and species, as well as provide illustrations and information on the geographic distribution, habitat, and phenology for all species.

What is the Effect of Thiamine Hydrochloride on Rooting of Sapindaceae Stem Cuttings?

ABSTRACT Sapindaceae family presents notable richness of liana species in the Neotropics. Many of them are potentially ornamental, but still unexplored. Two Sapindaceae species were selected to test the efficiency of thiamine hydrochloride in plant propagation from stem cuttings. Thiamine hydrochloride has an unexplored potential for higher and better rooting of plant cuttings and it is a cheaper alternative to the traditional usage of phytohormones. Results showed no difference between treatment and control for all root variables evaluated in the two species studied. Seedling production from cuttings does not require application of thiamine hydrochloride in the concentration used to ensure rooting; only water irrigation is sufficient. However, further experiments involving different concentrations of thiamin hydrochloride should be conducted to detect whether different concentrations influence rooting.

How do lianas and vines influence competitive differences and niche differences among tree species? Concepts and a case study in a tropical forest

AbstractLianas and other climbing plants are structural parasites of trees, generally reducing host tree survival, growth, and reproduction, yet their influences on the outcome of competition among tree species have remained largely unexplored.We propose that there are three distinct components to liana–tree interactions:prevalence, defined as the proportion of infested trees;load, defined as the mean liana cover on infested trees; andtolerance, defined as the effect of a given level of infestation on tree population growth rates. We introduce a new metric that integrates these components, the lianaburden, defined as the total effect of lianas on per capita population growth rates given current prevalence, load, and tolerance. Using these metrics, we quantify variation among 33 co‐occurring tropical tree species in liana–tree interactions and its relation with shade‐tolerance.The focal tree species vary strongly in liana prevalence, load, tolerance, and burden. Interspecific variation in tolerance is the largest contributor to interspecific variation in burden. Species rankings of per capita population growth rates under current liana infestation levels differ somewhat from rankings under liana‐free conditions, and differ strongly from rankings under uniformly high liana infestation. Thus, lianas alter competitive hierarchies to benefit tree species that are relatively tolerant of and/or resistant to lianas. Among the focal tree species, shade‐tolerance is positively correlated with liana tolerance and prevalence, but largely unrelated to load and burden, meaning shade‐tolerance does not predict which species are competitively disadvantaged by lianas. We describe a variety of mechanisms by which lianas may potentially increase or decrease niche differences among tree species, including interactions with spatial and temporal environmental niche partitioning, and potential differences among tree species in relative vulnerability to different liana species.Synthesis. Lianas, like other natural enemies, can in principle alter competitive hierarchies and niche structure of co‐occurring tree species, and our analyses suggest such influences are substantial in our focal tropical tree community and likely many other tree communities as well. Quantifying these effects requires a more comprehensive approach including analyses and modelling of dynamics of liana–tree interactions and their variation with tree and liana species identities.

Supplementary Materials Tree Stands and Liana Community in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia

The diversity of lianas and trees were studied in five study sites of 100 x 20 m within the Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia with a view to provide baseline information on their incidence, taxonomy and ecological distributions. The sites include Sungai Kejar, Sungai Papan, Sungai Papan 2, Teluk Gopal and Sungai Kooi with at least 1000 m apart. These plots were further sub-divided into five sub-plots of 20 x 20 m each. Lianas with a diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 1 cm and trees with dbh ≥ 10 cm were identified and frequencies of occurrence were determined. Lianas comprising 92 species from 23 families while trees comprising 221 species and 48 families were enumerated. Annonaceae was the richest family of lianas and trees (19 species and 23 species respectively). Connarus (Connaraceae) and Spatholobus (Fabaceae) had the highest number of lianas (six species) whilst Syzygium (Myrtaceae) had the highest number of trees (11 species). There are significant differences in all the diversity indices among the study sites, except between Sungai Papan and Teluk Gopal which were the richest and most diverse in liana species. These two sites also showed high similarity index in liana species (0.50) followed by Sungai Kejar and Sungai Papan 2 (0.37). Sungai Kejar was however observed to have the highest tree species richness. These study sites could be described as very rich with a high diversity of lianas and trees. Although, it is richer in trees than lianas which means that the level of disturbance of the park is very low.

Tree Stands and Liana Community in Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia

The diversity of lianas and trees were studied in five study sites of 100 x 20 m within the Royal Belum State Park, Malaysia with a view to provide baseline information on their incidence, taxonomy and ecological distributions. The sites include Sungai Kejar, Sungai Papan, Sungai Papan 2, Teluk Gopal and Sungai Kooi with at least 1000 m apart. These plots were further sub-divided into five sub-plots of 20 x 20 m each. Lianas with a diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 1 cm and trees with dbh ≥ 10 cm were identified and frequencies of occurrence were determined. Lianas comprising 92 species from 23 families while trees comprising 221 species and 48 families were enumerated. Annonaceae was the richest family of lianas and trees (19 species and 23 species respectively). Connarus (Connaraceae) and Spatholobus (Fabaceae) had the highest number of lianas (six species) whilst Syzygium (Myrtaceae) had the highest number of trees (11 species). There are significant differences in all the diversity indices among the study sites, except between Sungai Papan and Teluk Gopal which were the richest and most diverse in liana species. These two sites also showed high similarity index in liana species (0.50) followed by Sungai Kejar and Sungai Papan 2 (0.37). Sungai Kejar was however observed to have the highest tree species richness. These study sites could be described as very rich with a high diversity of lianas and trees. Although, it is richer in trees than lianas which means that the level of disturbance of the park is very low.
 Keywords: Annonaceae, Connarus, forests, lianas diversity, Perak, Syzygium

The passion fruit liana (Passiflora edulis Sims, Passifloraceae) is tolerant to ozone

Passiflora edulis Sims is a liana species of high economic interest and is an interesting model plant for understanding ozone action on disturbed vegetation. In this work we hypothesized that P. edulis has adaptive responses to oxidative stress that enable it to tolerate ozone damage based on its capacity to grow under a diversity of environmental conditions and to dominate disturbed areas. We exposed seedlings to three levels of ozone in a Free-Air Controlled Exposure (FACE) system (22, 41 and 58 ppb h AOT40 and 13.52, 17.24 and 20.62 mmol m−2 POD0, over 97 days) for identifying its tolerance mechanisms. Anatomical (leaf blade structure and fluorescence emission of chloroplast metabolites), physiological (leaf gas exchange, growth rate and biomass production) and biochemical (pigments, total sugars, starch, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant metabolites, reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation derivatives) responses were assessed. Ozone caused decreased total number of leaves, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the mesophyll cells, and accelerated leaf senescence. However, O3 did not affect carbohydrates content, net photosynthetic rate, or total biomass production, indicating that the carboxylation efficiency and associated physiological processes were not affected. In addition, P. edulis showed higher leaf contents of ascorbic acid, glutathione (as well high ratio between their reduced and total forms), carotenoids, and flavonoids located in the chloroplast outer envelope membrane. Our results indicate that P. edulis is an O3-tolerant species due to morphological acclimation responses and an effective antioxidant defense system represented by non-enzymatic antioxidants, which maintained the cellular redox balance under ozone.

A new species of Adenocalymma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae) from Minas Gerais, Brazil

Adenocalymma includes approximately 76 species of lianas, shrubs and treelets, representing the largest genus from the Neotropical tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae). As part of ongoing taxonomic studies within the “Adenocalymma-Neojobertia” clade, we found a new species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic forest, Adenocalymma fistulosum. The new taxon resembles A. apetiolatum, A. sessile, A. subsessilifolium, and A. tephrinocalyx on the sessile leaf insertion and shrubby habit, but differs by the indument type, branch and branchlet pith, prophyll shape, inflorescence trichomes, bract and bracteole shape and size, corolla shape and color, presence of cupular trichomes in the corolla, and position of the anthers and stigma. The new taxon is described and illustrated. In addition, a distribution map, notes on the geographic distribution, habitat and morphological variation are provided.

Contrasting leaf-trait strategies in dominant liana and tree species of Indian tropical dry evergreen forest

Recent studies have revealed convergence in the variation of leaf traits across various plant life-forms on a global scale. This study aims to analyze and compare the leaf-trait strategies of dominant liana and tree species in Indian tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF). The study also checks whether these life-forms differ in their resource acquisition strategies explained by the variance in their leaf functional traits. The present study was carried out in a permanent plot established in a TDEF site on the Coromandel Coast of India. We selected ten dominant species of lianas and trees to analyze and compare their leaf-trait strategies. For each species, we collected 30 healthy sun leaves from at least eight individuals. The collected leaf samples were analyzed for various leaf functional traits using standard protocol. Lianas had higher specific leaf area and mass-based leaf nitrogen than the trees. Trees had higher leaf lamina area, leaf thickness, leaf mass per area, leaf tissue density and C:N than the lianas. Lianas and trees in the studied site differed significantly in six out of seven leaf-functional traits analyzed. The observed leaf trait strategies of lianas in TDEF could offer competitive advantage for them over trees.

Mangrove plant utilization by local coastal community in Indonesia

As an archipelagic country amounted to 17,504 islands with about 95,181 km length of coastal line, Indonesia is endowed by about 3.2 million ha of mangrove forests from several meters to several kilometres in width, in which 70% of them have been destroyed. They are inhabited by about 202 species of plants (89 species of trees, 44 species of shrubs, 19 species of lianas, 5 species of palms, 44 species of epiphytes, 1 species of fern). For centuries, the Indonesian people have traditionally utilized mangrove plants to support their daily life. The main genera used are Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Ceriops, Avicennia, Nipa, and Sonneratia. Those various utilizations are as follows: (1) food and beverage (taffy, syrup, salad, “kecap”, “peyek”, chip, cake, tannin for cloth painting, sugar, jelly, “getuk”, starch/powder); (2) wood-based products (charcoal, housing material, firewood); (3) fodder (leaf of Sonneratia spp., Avicennia spp., Rhizophora spp.); (4) medicine (Acanthus tea, tonic of Rhizophora young root decoction, poison from Excoecaria agallocha saps, resin of Avicennia spp. for anti-fertility). Meanwhile, almost all of them use mangrove land for fishpond (tambak) with various models (silvofishery, open fishpond, agrosilvofishery, agrosilvofisherypastoral). Through the model of agrosilvofisherypastoral system they get agricultural crops, fish, firewood, meat, all at once. However, almost all of products are used subsistently, except for firewood or charcoal. Those products are still not well marketed because several reasons, such as less promotion, has not yet been clinically-tested for human health, less government attention, unstable raw material supply, etc. Recently, many groups of local coastal communities manage mangrove forest for ecotourism. In the near future, mangrove plants can enrich food diversity to strengthen food security in Indonesia.

Discrimination of liana and tree leaves from a Neotropical Dry Forest using visible-near infrared and longwave infrared reflectance spectra

Increases in liana abundance in tropical forests are pervasive threats to the current and future forest carbon stocks. Never before has the need been more evident for new approaches to detect the presence of liana in ecosystems, given their significance as fingerprints of global environmental change. In this study, we explore the use of longwave infrared reflectance (LWIR, 8–11 μm) as a wavelength region for the classification of liana and tree leaves and compare classification results with those obtained using visible-near infrared reflectance data (VIS-NIR, 0.45–0.95 μm). Twenty sun leaves were collected from each of 14 liana species and 21 tree species located at the canopy or forest edge (n = 700) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. LWIR and VIS-NIR reflectance measurements were performed on these leaves using a portable calibrated Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Agilent ExoScan 4100 and a UniSpec spectral analysis system, respectively. The VIS-NIR and LWIR data were first resampled. Then these two spectral libraries were pre-processed for noise reduction and spectral feature enhancement resulting in three datasets for each spectral region as follows: filtered only, filtered followed by extraction of the first derivative, and continuous wavelet transformation (CWT). Data reduction was then applied to these data sets using principal components analysis (PCA). The outputs obtained from the PCA were used to conduct the supervised classification of liana and tree leaves. In total, 21 classifiers were applied to datasets of training and testing to extract the classification accuracy and agreement for liana and tree leaves. The results suggest that the classification of leaves based on LWIR data can reach accuracy values between 66 and 96% and agreement values between 32 and 92%, regardless of the type of classifier. In contrast, the classification based on VIS-NIR data shows accuracy values between 50 and 70% and agreement values between 0.01 and 40%. The highest classification rates of liana and tree leaves were obtained from datasets pre-processed using the CWT or from the extraction of the first derivative and classified using either random forest, k-nearest neighbor, or support vector machine with radial kernel. The results using the LWIR reflectance highlight the potential of this spectral region for the accurate detection of liana extent in tropical ecosystems. Future studies should consider this potential and test the regional monitoring of lianas.

Testing ecological theory with lianas.

Contents Summary 366 I. Introduction 366 II. Testing ecological theory: effects of the environment on lianas 369 III. A unified explanation for liana distribution and the maintenance of liana diversity 370 IV. Testing ecological theory: effects of lianas on the environment 373 V. Theoretical effects of lianas on forest diversity 375 VI. Lianas and trophic interactions in forests 375 VII. Unresolved challenges in liana ecology 376 VIII. Conclusions 377 Acknowledgements 377 References 377 SUMMARY: Lianas constitute a diverse polyphyletic plant group that is advancing our understanding of ecological theory. Specifically, lianas are providing new insights into the mechanisms that control plant distribution and diversity maintenance. For example, there is now evidence that a single, scalable mechanism may explain local, regional, and pan-tropical distribution of lianas, as well as the maintenance of liana species diversity. The ability to outcompete trees under dry, stressful conditions in seasonal forests provides lianas a growth advantage that, over time, results in relatively high abundance in seasonal forests and low abundance in aseasonal forests. Lianas may also gain a similar growth advantage following disturbance, thus explaining why liana density and diversity peak following disturbance at the local, forest scale. The study of ecology, however, is more than the effect of the environment on organisms; it also includes the effects of organisms on the environment. Considerable empirical evidence now indicates that lianas substantially alter their environment by consuming resources, suppressing tree performance, and influencing emergent properties of forests, such as ecosystem functioning, plant and animal diversity, and community composition. These recent studies using lianas are transcending classical tropical ecology research and are now providing novel insights into fundamental ecological theory.

Increase in CO2 concentration could alter the response of Hedera helix to climate change.

Increasing CO 2 concentration ([CO 2]) is likely to affect future species distributions, in interaction with other climate change drivers. However, current modeling approaches still seldom consider interactions between climatic factors and the importance of these interactions therefore remains mostly unexplored. Here, we combined dendrochronological and modeling approaches to study the interactive effects of increasing [CO 2] and temperature on the distribution of one of the main European liana species, Hedera helix. We combined a classical continent‐wide species distribution modeling approach with a case study using H. helix and Quercus cerris tree rings, where we explored the long‐term influence of a variety of climate drivers, including increasing [CO 2], and their interactions, on secondary growth. Finally, we explored how our findings could influence the model predictions. Climate‐only model predictions showed a small decrease in habitat suitability for H. helix in Europe; however, this was accompanied by a strong shift in the distribution toward the north and east. Our growth ring data suggested that H. helix can benefit from high [CO 2] under warm conditions, more than its tree hosts, which showed a weaker response to [CO 2] coupled with higher cavitation risk under high temperature. Increasing [CO 2] might therefore offset the negative effects of high temperatures on H. helix, and we illustrate how this might translate into maintenance of H. helix in warmer areas. Our results highlight the need to consider carbon fertilization and interactions between climate variables in ecological modeling. Combining dendrochronological analyses with spatial distribution modeling may provide opportunities to refine predictions of how climate change will affect species distributions.

REVISION OF MEZIA (MALPIGHIACEAE)

The Neotropical genus Mezia (Malpighiaceae) comprises 15 species of lianas (except M. huberi W.R.Anderson, a shrub or small tree). All have multibranched, densely brown-sericeous inflorescences with the ultimate unit a 4-flowered umbel of bilaterally symmetrical flowers. The distinctive pair of large cymbiform bracteoles subtends a rudimentary pedicel and encloses the floral bud. The flowers contain elongate sepals, the lateral four biglandular, yellow petals, the posterior often splotched with red, a heteromorphic androecium, and a tricarpellate gynoecium. The three styles are all free; the posterior pair is lyrate in five species but erect in the others. The samaras have an orbicular to oblate lateral wing and a much smaller dorsal wing; in most species, additional winglets and/or crests are present between the lateral and dorsal wings. Only Mezia mariposa W.R.Anderson has butterfly-shaped samaras lacking additional ornamentation. Four new species are proposed: Mezia andersonii C.E.Anderson, M. bahiana C.E.Anderson, M. fanshawei C.E.Anderson and M. sericea C.E.Anderson. One variety is elevated to species level and provided with a new name, Mezia peruviana C.E.Anderson; a lectotype is chosen for Diplopterys involuta var. ovata Nied. Full descriptions and synonymies are provided, as well as a distribution map. All species are illustrated.

Abundance of liana species in an Amazonian forest of Brazil reflects neither adventitious root nor foliar sprout production

Abstract:Liana abundance and size have increased in neotropical forests. High vegetative reproductive capacity (clonality) may be the cause of high abundance in some liana species. Correlations between vegetative propagation capacity and (1) relative abundance of liana species, (2) rooting and foliar sprouting potentials of congeneric species, and (3) phylogenetic position were determined. Species selection was based on the relative abundance of lianas in ten 0.5-ha parcels in continuous forest within the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), Brazil. Five individuals per species were replicated with seven cuttings per individual. Cuttings placed in moistened sand and coconut fibre were observed for 5 mo in a humid greenhouse. Survival percentage, rooting percentage, potential regeneration index and longest root length were determined per species. The two most abundant species (9.3% and 4.1% relative abundance) had low vegetative regeneration capacity, contrary to expectations. However, a significant, positive relationship between vegetative propagation and relative abundance of liana species whose relative abundances were <4% was found. Congeneric species showed no difference in vegetative propagation between rare and abundant species, except congeners of Machaerium. Vegetative reproductive capacity occurred in all major evolutionary lineages, but was highest in Fabaceae and Bignoniaceae, families of high abundance both locally and broadly across Neotropical forests.

Diversité Des Espèces Herbacées Et Lianescentes De La Forêt Classée Du Haut-Sassandra (Centre-Ouest, Côte d’Ivoire) Après Plusieurs Années D’exploitation Forestière

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect forest integrity and floristic composition. The resulting secondary habitats is characterised by liana and herb species which modified the forest physiognomy. To elucidate the floristic characteristics of these secondary forests, the present study was carried out after logging operations in the the Haut-Sassandra protected Forest. The inventory has been realised in 18 individual one ha in three level of logging operation. A total of 445 species have been identified. Floristics parameters vary according to the time after logging operation: from 255 in the south sector, 296 species in the center sector, 271 species in the north sector, 15 years after logging. The family diversity is between 56 and 62 with a predominance of Rubiaceae. Phytogeographic-types are characterized by Guinean-Congolese species (71,2 %), and species endemic to SavannahForest transition zone (14,6 %). The presence of herb and liana species which are pioneer and heliophile, could generate a micro climate favorable to the recovery of other forest plant species.

Differences in Leaf Temperature between Lianas and Trees in the Neotropical Canopy

Leaf temperature (Tleaf) influences photosynthesis and respiration. Currently, there is a growing interest in including lianas in productivity models due to their increasing abundance and their detrimental effects in the carbon stock of tropical ecosystems. Therefore, understanding the differences of Tleaf between lianas and trees is important for future predictions of productivity. Here, we determined the displayed leaf temperature (Td = Tleaf − air temperature) of several species of lianas and their host trees during El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and non-ENSO years to evaluate if the presence of lianas affects the Td of their host trees, and if leaves of lianas and their host trees exhibit differences in Td. Our results suggest that close to midday, the presence of lianas does not affect the Td of their host trees; however, lianas tend to have higher values of Td than their hosts across seasons, in both ENSO and non-ENSO years. Although lianas and trees tend to have similar physiological-temperature responses, differences in Td could lead to significant differences in rates of photosynthesis and respiration based on temperature response curves. Future models should thus consider differences in leaf temperature between these two life forms to achieve robust predictions of productivity.

English

Ethiopia is one of the biodiversity reach areas in the world. A study was conducted at Amoro Forest to determine the woody species composition, vegetation and population structure. Vegetation data were collected from 36 plots (900 m2) systematically laid along transects. A hierarchical cluster analysis with R software was used to identify plant communities. Structural analysis of the forest was performed based on frequency, density, DBH, basal area and importance value indices (IVI) of woody species. A total of 57 woody species belonging to 38 families were encountered, consisting of 19 tree (33.33%), 31 (54.38%) shrubs, and 7(4.37%) liana species. The vegetation of the forest was classified into four plant communities namely, Calpurnia aurea-Vernonia myriantha, Vernonia myriantha-Euphorbia abyssinica, Laggera tomentosa-Solanecio gigas, Allophyllus abyssinicus-Bersama abyssinica based on cluster analysis. The total basal area and density of woody plants were 18.5 m2/h and 2860.49 stems/h respectively. The DBH distribution showed a reverse “J” shaped curve, meaning that there is active regeneration and recruitment in the forest. Four representative woody plant population structures were identified, that is, inverted J, Gauss I, Gauss II and J- shaped patterns. There is high anthropogenic effect and high dependence of the local community in Amoro Forest so that forest conservation and restoration measures should be required. Key words: Ethiopia, Amoro Forest, vegetation communities, anthropogenic activities and population structure.

Inter‐annual variability of fruit timing and quantity at Nouragues (French Guiana): insights from hierarchical Bayesian analyses

AbstractThe timing and quantity of fruit production are major determinants of the functioning of a forest community, but simultaneous analyses of both are rare. We analyzed a ten‐year dataset (2001–2011) of fruit production for 45 tree and liana species from the Nouragues rain forest, French Guiana. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian approach to determine variation in the timing and quantity of fruit production. Our analysis accommodates missing censuses and quantifies variation at seasonal and inter‐annual scales. The fruiting peak of 22 of 45 species occurred during the peak of the rainy season, which is typical for central and eastern Amazon. The timing and quantity of fruit production varied substantially across years in most species, with greater variation in quantity than in timing. The timing of fruit production varied from continuously fruiting species to mast fruiting species that had two or more consecutive years without fruit production. Fully 40% of species were mast fruiting species. The seasonal timing and inter‐annual variation in fruiting were unrelated to seed dispersal mode across species. We saw no evidence for directional change in the level of fruit production, the timing of fruit production, or their variances; however, 10 yr is a short record for such analyses.