Title
Three-dimensional space utilization of lianas: a methodology
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1992
Volume Number
24
Source Publication
Biotropica
Abstract
A three-dimensional mapping and harvest method for aboveground biomass is described to characterize spatial distribution patterns of vine or liana individuals. Distance, height, and compass measurements are utilized for delimitation of one-meter-sided imaginary cubes, where liana stem length and leaf area can be measured and harvested later for biomass determination. The methodology, exemplified with the mapping of two individuals, was suitable to detect how stem and leaves of both lianas used differently their volume of space, and by harvesting leaf biomass within each cube, it allowed to detect leaf area index patchiness in the individuals and within the forest. In Liabum caducifolium, leaf area was distributed in patches within the forest, while in heteropterys palmeri leaf area was on top of the forest canopy. This proposed methodology, particularly if combined with other ecological and/or physiological measurements, may allow better insights of individual two- and three-dimensional space distribution, modular demography, ecological requirements, and environmental constraints within the forest.