The Ecology of Lianas and Their Increasing Influence in Tropical Forests

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

2024

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Source Publication

Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology

Source ISSN

9781003324072

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.4324/9781003324072-16

Abstract

Lianas (woody vines) are a polyphyletic group of plants that are key components of forests worldwide. While lianas are present in temperate forests, they are particularly common in lowland tropical forests, where they add considerably to plant species diversity, provide resources, structure, and habitat complexity for wildlife, and facilitate animal movement through the forest. Lianas have a strong negative effect on trees, reducing tree recruitment, growth, and reproduction. At the ecosystem level, the negative effect of lianas on trees results in reduced forest-wide carbon accumulation and increased carbon flux in tropical forests. Thus, determining the factors that control worldwide liana distribution is critical to predicting the forests where lianas will have the greatest potential effects. Furthermore, liana density is increasing in many tropical forests, adding urgency to the goal of determining the factors that control liana distribution and abundance. In this chapter, I review the current state of knowledge on the ecology of lianas and their contribution to tropical forest ecosystems. This chapter consists of four main sections: (1) a brief introduction to liana ecology; (2) ecological effects of lianas on forest ecosystems; (3) global distribution pattern of lianas and the scale-dependent factors that control this pattern; (4) the recently documented pattern of increasing liana abundance in neotropical forests—a phenomenon that has immense potential ramifications for tropical forest diversity and functioning.

Comments

"The Ecology of Lianas and Their Increasing Influence in Tropical" in Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology. Eds. Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Richard T. Corlett and Yves Bergeron. New York: Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2024: 211-229. DOI.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS