Upper canopy pollinators of Eucryphia cordifolia Cav., a tree of South American temperate rain forest

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Smith-Ramírez ◽  
Paula Martínez ◽  
Iván Díaz ◽  
Marcelo Galaz ◽  
Juan J. Armesto
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
South American ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Flower Visitors ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Tall Tree ◽  
Pollinator Assemblage

Ecological processes in the upper canopy of temperate forests have been seldom studied because of the limited accessibility. Here, we present the results of the first survey of the pollinator assemblage and the frequency of insect visits to flowers in the upper branches of ulmo, Eucryphia cordifolia Cav., an emergent 30-40 m-tall tree in rainforests of Chiloé Island, Chile. We compared these findings with a survey of flower visitors restricted to lower branches of E. cordifolia 1- in the forest understory, 2- in lower branches in an agroforestry area. We found 10 species of pollinators in canopy, and eight, 12 and 15 species in understory, depending of tree locations. The main pollinators of E. cordifolia in the upper canopy differed significantly from the pollinator assemblage recorded in lower tree branches. We conclude that the pollinator assemblages of the temperate forest canopy and interior are still unknown.

Vegetation Damage Caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi on Disturbed Sites in Temperate Rain-Forest in Western Tasmania

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
FD Podger ◽  
MJ Brown
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
Field Inoculation ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
External Sources ◽  
The Common ◽  
Greenhouse Tests

Phytophthora cinnamomi has been isolated directly from 558 diseased plants among 39 species including 1 fern, 4 graminoids and 34 woody dicotyledons, all indigenous to the cool temperate rainforest of Tasmania. Pathogenicity has been proved by greenhouse tests (20 spp.) and by field inoculation at two localities (19 spp.). Of the 142 species in the rainforest flora, 69 were rated for the susceptibility of field populations; 30% were highly susceptible and less than 5% highly resistant. High proportions of susceptible species occurred in Epacridaceae, Eucryphiaceae and Proteaceae. All 93 isolates tested were the common A2 mating type. The fungus was constantly associated with disease at 47 survey localities. Diseased plants were widely but patchily distributed along exposed road and track edges within unburned rainforest and in recently burned rainforest. The fungus was not recovered from samples taken beneath healthy roadside regeneration, beneath undisturbed rainforest or above 900 m elevation. The disease has the characteristics of attack by a recent invader and appears to be dependent upon disturbance which elevates soil temperatures above 15°C, the lower threshold for infection by P. cinnamomi. Post-fire recovery of forest canopy is expected to allow re-establishment from external sources of seed of those susceptible species which are both efficiently dispersed and tolerant of shade. Species lacking such characteristics are at risk of local elimination but no single rainforest species appears to be under threat of extinction from this pathogen.

Ancient temperate rain forest research in British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville N. Winchester
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Habitat Specialization ◽  
Forest Diversity ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Ancient Forests

AbstractThis paper is a tribute to Dr. R.A. Ring upon his retirement. During the past 12 years (1993–2005), an emerging canopy research program has established a wealth of baseline information on the structure and functioning of temperate rain forest canopy arthropod communities. Studies from research sites on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, have shown that ancient temperate rain forest canopy ecosystems contain a largely undescribed fauna that is specific to habitat features found only in these canopies. In particular, diverse assemblages of free-living mites have been shown to dominate conifer species and canopy microhabitats. For example, oribatid mites are the dominant arthropod fauna on branches, branches with attached lichens, and suspended soil accumulations. Species composition differs significantly between the ground and the canopy at both the family and the species level. Arboreal specificity may be due to intrinsic variation in habitat quality, habitat architecture, patchiness, and (or) resource availability. The prevalent patterns of habitat specialization, low vagility, and restricted distribution displayed by a large percentage of the resident canopy microarthropods are features often associated with forest ecoregions that have enjoyed relatively stable conditions for long periods of time, as have the ancient forests on Vancouver Island. Investigators in the “one-Ring lab” continue to document the diversity and abundance of canopy arthropods of temperate forests in British Columbia. In particular, studies are concerned with defining the organizing principles that elicit community patterns associated with the various levels of complexity in arboreal communities. Our long-term goal is to provide a greater degree of predictability when addressing temperate forest diversity issues. To meet the stated goals of sustainable forest management and retention of biodiversity, an extensive plan of ecological research that features arthropods is needed. This plan, fostered by Dr. Ring, should have as a priority the inventory and cataloguing of species assemblages and should address dynamic processes such as organismal dispersal and the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on arthropods in ancient forests.

scholarly journals Spatial Variation in Canopy Structure across Forest Landscapes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brady S. Hardiman ◽  
Elizabeth A. LaRue ◽  
Jeff W. Atkins ◽  
Robert T. Fahey ◽  
Franklin W. Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Lidar System ◽  
Stable Point ◽  
Eastern Usa ◽  
Forested Landscapes ◽  
Patch Scale

Forest canopy structure (CS) controls many ecosystem functions and is highly variable across landscapes, but the magnitude and scale of this variation is not well understood. We used a portable canopy lidar system to characterize variation in five categories of CS along N = 3 transects (140–800 m long) at each of six forested landscapes within the eastern USA. The cumulative coefficient of variation was calculated for subsegments of each transect to determine the point of stability for individual CS metrics. We then quantified the scale at which CS is autocorrelated using Moran’s I in an Incremental Autocorrelation analysis. All CS metrics reached stable values within 300 m but varied substantially within and among forested landscapes. A stable point of 300 m for CS metrics corresponds with the spatial extent that many ecosystem functions are measured and modeled. Additionally, CS metrics were spatially autocorrelated at 40 to 88 m, suggesting that patch scale disturbance or environmental factors drive these patterns. Our study shows CS is heterogeneous across temperate forest landscapes at the scale of 10’s of meters, requiring a resolution of this size for upscaling CS with remote sensing to large spatial scales.

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