Influence of a common palm, Oenocarpus mapora, on seedling establishment in a tropical moist forest in Panama

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Farris-Lopez ◽  
Julie S. Denslow ◽  
Barry Moser ◽  
Heather Passmore
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Biomass Accumulation ◽  
Transplant Experiment ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Lowland Forest ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Litter Depth ◽  
Moist Forest

Plants often modify microsite conditions important for seedling establishment. In tropical moist forest, advance regeneration in the form of shade-suppressed seedlings is a major component of regrowth in new gaps. Tree seedlings may be filtered by the composition and structure of the forest understorey. In a lowland forest in Central Panama, we examined light availability, litter accumulation and the seedling community (abundance, diversity and composition) under and away from the canopies of a common subcanopy, clonal palm, Oenocarpus mapora, and tested whether seedling abundance varies as a function of changes in understorey light conditions and leaf litter depth. We found evidence that leaf litter was five times deeper and light availability 27% lower under O. mapora canopy than where it was absent. The probability of finding a seedling in plots under O. mapora canopies was 33% lower than in plots without the palm. Plots under O. mapora canopies also had 49% fewer species of seedlings and those seedlings came from significantly larger seeds than seedlings in plots not under the palm. Overall, seedling density was positively correlated with light availability and negatively correlated with leaf litter depth. A transplant experiment confirmed that for at least one large-seeded species of dicot, seedlings are negatively affected by the reduction in light availability and increase in leaf litter. Under O. mapora, seedlings of Gustavia superba (Lecythidaceae) had lower survivorship and biomass accumulation than away from the palm. Thus, site conditions produced by large, clonal, multi-layered palms such as O. mapora may reduce establishment of small-seeded and shade-intolerant species, potentially affecting species composition in the understorey seedling pool.

Functional ecology of advance regeneration in relation to light in boreal forests

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Messier ◽  
René Doucet ◽  
Jean-Claude Ruel ◽  
Yves Claveau ◽  
Colin Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Surface Area Ratio ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Leaf Level

This paper reviews aspects of the functional ecology of naturally established tree seedlings in the boreal forests of North America with an emphasis on the relationship between light availability and the growth and survival of shade tolerant conifers up to pole size. Shade tolerant conifer species such as firs and spruces tend to have a lower specific leaf mass, photosynthetic rate at saturation, live crown ratio, STAR (shoot silhouette area to total needle surface area ratio), and root to shoot ratio than the shade intolerant pines. The inability of intolerant species such as the pines and aspen to survive in shade appears to be mainly the result of characteristics at the shoot, crown, and whole-tree levels and not at the leaf level. Although firs and spruces frequently coexist in shaded understories, they do not have identical growth patterns and crown architectures. We propose a simple framework based on the maximum height that different tree species can sustain in shade, which may help managers determine the timing of partial or complete harvests. Consideration of these functional aspects of regeneration is important to the understanding of boreal forest dynamics and can be useful to forest managers seeking to develop or assess novel silvicultural systems.

Leaf litter depth as an important factor inhibiting seedling establishment of an exotic palm in tropical secondary forest patches

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazelina H. T. Yeo ◽  
Kwek Yan Chong ◽  
Alex T. K. Yee ◽  
Xingli Giam ◽  
Richard T. Corlett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Secondary Forest ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Litter Depth ◽  
Tropical Secondary Forest

Juvenile tree growth in relation to light availability in second-growth tropical rain forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Beth Palomaki ◽  
Robin L. Chazdon ◽  
J. Pablo Arroyo ◽  
Susan G. Letcher
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Tropical Rain Forests ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
Crown Shape ◽  
Made In

Light is a key environmental factor limiting growth and survival of trees in the subcanopy of wet tropical forests (Davies 2001, Thomas 1996). Light availability varies both vertically and horizontally and affects tree height, crown shape and tree architecture (Bongers & Sterck 1998, Sterck & Bongers 2001, Sterck et al. 1999) in addition to growth and survival (Clark & Clark 1992, 2001). Although many studies of tree seedlings and saplings have shown that growth varies significantly with light availability in tropical wet forests (Clark et al. 1993, Iriarte & Chazdon 2005, King 1991, Kohyama 1991, Montgomery & Chazdon 2002, Oberbauer et al. 1988, 1993; Poorter & Werger 1999, Sterck et al. 1999, Welden et al. 1991), few studies have examined these relationships in size classes above 5 cm dbh (Sterck 1999). King et al. (2005) found that annual increment growth of trees in the 8–20-cm dbh size class in two Asian forests was positively dependent on an index of crown light interception, but no direct measurements of light availability were taken in this study. Due to logistical challenges, few direct measurements of light environments above tree crowns have been made in tropical forests (Sterck & Bongers 2001). To our knowledge, no measurements have been made in second-growth forests.

Maternal effects and drought tolerance determine seedling establishment success in a common roadside plant, Dipsacus fullonum subsp sylvestris

Botany ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (10) ◽  
pp. 930-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Beaton ◽  
Susan A. Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Transplant Experiment ◽  
Reciprocal Transplant Experiment ◽  
Maternal Provisioning ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Roadside Environment

Previous studies have demonstrated that plants collected as seeds from roadside populations of Dipsacus fullonum L. subsp sylvestris (Huds.) Claphamare more tolerant of high salinity, low osmotic potentials, and hypoxia during juvenile growth stages than those from oldfield populations. However, it is unclear how tolerance to these abiotic stressors translates into performance in the roadside environment. Here, we conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment between oldfield and roadside environments. Seeds from three roadside and three oldfield populations were planted into oldfield and roadside sites in late fall. Throughout the spring and summer, the survivorship and size of the seedlings were monitored to examine differences in performance in the two habitats. We also assessed the relation between performance in the field and previous in vitro measures of salt and drought tolerance of each population. A drought caused high mortality levels in the oldfield and roadside. Individuals from roadside populations did not exhibit increased growth or survivorship in the roadside environment. In the early months of seedling growth, neither salt nor drought tolerance were significantly correlated with performance in the roadside during seedling establishment. Rather, during these early months, the average size of individuals in each population in the field was positively correlated with the population’s average seed mass, indicating that maternal provisioning had a greater impact than tolerance to particular environmental stresses during the juvenile stages of development. However, later in the summer, after the drought began, the average size of individuals from each population in the field was positively correlated with that population’s average drought tolerance.

scholarly journals Light alters the impacts of nitrogen and foliar pathogens on the performance of early successional tree seedlings

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11587
Author(s):  
Alexander Brown ◽  
Robert W. Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
High Light ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Light Limitation ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Low Light ◽  
Foliar Damage

Light limitation is a major driver of succession and an important determinant of the performance of shade-intolerant tree seedlings. Shade intolerance may result from a resource allocation strategy characterized by rapid growth and high metabolic costs, which may make shade-intolerant species particularly sensitive to nutrient limitation and pathogen pressure. In this study, we evaluated the degree to which nitrogen availability and fungal pathogen pressure interact to influence plant performance across different light environments. To test this, we manipulated nitrogen availability (high, low) and access by foliar fungal pathogens (sprayed with fungicide, unsprayed) to seedlings of the shade-intolerant tree, Liquidambar styraciflua, growing at low and high light availability, from forest understory to adjacent old field. Foliar fungal damage varied with light and nitrogen availability; in low light, increasing nitrogen availability tripled foliar damage, suggesting that increased nutrient availability in low light makes plants more susceptible to disease. Despite higher foliar damage under low light, spraying fungicide to exclude pathogens promoted 14% greater plant height only under high light conditions. Thus, although nitrogen availability and pathogen pressure each influenced aspects of plant performance, these effects were context dependent and overwhelmed by light limitation. This suggests that failure of shade-intolerant species to invade closed-canopy forest can be explained by light limitation alone.

scholarly journals Probing the Response of the Amphibious Plant Butomus umbellatus to Nutrient Enrichment and Shading by Integrating Eco-Physiological With Metabolomic Analyses

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paraskevi Manolaki ◽  
Georgia Tooulakou ◽  
Caroline Urup Byberg ◽  
Franziska Eller ◽  
Brian K. Sorrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Enrichment ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Biomass Accumulation ◽  
Physiological Adaptation ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Physiological Parameter ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Amphibious Plants

Amphibious plants, living in land-water ecotones, have to cope with challenging and continuously changing growth conditions in their habitats with respect to nutrient and light availability. They have thus evolved a variety of mechanisms to tolerate and adapt to these changes. Therefore, the study of these plants is a major area of ecophysiology and environmental ecological research. However, our understanding of their capacity for physiological adaptation and tolerance remains limited and requires systemic approaches for comprehensive analyses. To this end, in this study, we have conducted a mesocosm experiment to analyze the response of Butomus umbellatus, a common amphibious species in Denmark, to nutrient enrichment and shading. Our study follows a systematic integration of morphological (including plant height, leaf number, and biomass accumulation), ecophysiological (photosynthesis-irradiance responses, leaf pigment content, and C and N content in plant organs), and leaf metabolomic measurements using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (39 mainly primary metabolites), based on bioinformatic methods. No studies of this type have been previously reported for this plant species. We observed that B. umbellatus responds to nutrient enrichment and light reduction through different mechanisms and were able to identify its nutrient enrichment acclimation threshold within the applied nutrient gradient. Up to that threshold, the morpho-physiological response to nutrient enrichment was profound, indicating fast-growing trends (higher growth rates and biomass accumulation), but only few parameters changed significantly from light to shade [specific leaf area (SLA); quantum yield (φ)]. Metabolomic analysis supported the morpho-physiological results regarding nutrient overloading, indicating also subtle changes due to shading not directly apparent in the other measurements. The combined profile analysis revealed leaf metabolite and morpho-physiological parameter associations. In this context, leaf lactate, currently of uncertain role in higher plants, emerged as a shading acclimation biomarker, along with SLA and φ. The study enhances both the ecophysiology methodological toolbox and our knowledge of the adaptive capacity of amphibious species. It demonstrates that the educated combination of physiological with metabolomic measurements using bioinformatic approaches is a promising approach for ecophysiology research, enabling the elucidation of discriminatory metabolic shifts to be used for early diagnosis and even prognosis of natural ecosystem responses to climate change.

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