Functional traits of broad-leaved monocot herbs in the understory and forest edges of a Costa Rican rainforest

Broad-leaved monocot herbs are widespread and dominant components of the shaded understories of wet neotropical forests. These understory habitats are characterized by light limitation and a constant threat of falling branches. Many shaded understory herb species have close relatives that occupy forest edges and gaps, where light availability is higher and defoliation threat is lower, creating an opportunity for comparative analysis of functional traits in order to better understand the evolutionary adaptations associated with this habitat transition. We documented ecological, morphological and ecophysiological traits of multiple herb species in six monocot families from each of these two habitats in the wet tropical rainforest at the La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We found that a mixture of phylogenetic canalization and ecological selection for specific habitats helped explain patterns of functional traits. Understory herbs were significantly shorter and had smaller leaves than forest edge species. Although the mean number of leaves per plant and specific leaf area did not differ between the two groups, the larger leaf size of forest edge species gave them more than three times the mean plant leaf area. Measures of leaf water content and nitrogen content varied within both groups and mean values were not significantly different. Despite the high leaf nitrogen contents, the maximum photosynthetic rates of understory herbs were quite low. Measures of δ13C as an analog of water use efficiency found significantly lower (more negative) values in understory herbs compared to forest edge species. Clonality was strongly developed in several species but did not show strong phylogenetic patterns. This study highlights many functional traits that differ between broad-leaved monocot species characteristic of understory and forest edge habitats, as well as traits that vary primarily by phylogenetic relatedness. Overall, plant functional traits do not provide a simple explanation for the relative differences in abundance for individual understory and forest edge species with some occurring in great abundance while others are relatively rare.

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Effects of microhabitat on leaf traits in Digitalis grandiflora L. (Veronicaceae) growing at forest edge and interior

Archives of Biological Sciences ◽

10.2298/abs1402615k ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 615-627

Author(s):

J. Kołodziejek

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Stomatal Density ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Dry Mass ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Leaf Mass Per Area ◽

Forest Interior ◽

The Mean ◽

Shade Leaves

The morphological, anatomical and biochemical traits of the leaves of yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora Mill.) from two microhabitats, forest interior (full shade under oak canopy) and forest edge (half shade near shrubs), were studied. The microhabitats differed in the mean levels of available light, but did not differ in soil moisture. The mean level of light in the forest edge microhabitat was significantly higher than in the forest interior. Multivariate ANOVA was used to test the effects of microhabitat. Comparison of the available light with soil moisture revealed that both factors significantly influenced the morphological and anatomical variables of D. grandiflora. Leaf area, mass, leaf mass per area (LMA), surface area per unit dry mass (SLA), density and thickness varied greatly between leaves exposed to different light regimes. Leaves that developed in the shade were larger and thinner and had a greater SLA than those that developed in the half shade. In contrast, at higher light irradiances, at the forest edge, leaves tended to be thicker, with higher LMA and density. Stomatal density was higher in the half-shade leaves than in the full-shade ones. LMA was correlated with leaf area and mass and to a lesser extent with thickness and density in the forest edge microsite. The considerable variations in leaf density and thickness recorded here confirm the very high variation in cell size and amounts of structural tissue within species. The leaf plasticity index (PI) was the highest for the morphological leaf traits as compared to the anatomical and biochemical ones. The nitrogen content was higher in the ?half-shade leaves? than in the ?shade leaves?. Denser leaves corresponded to lower nitrogen (N) contents. The leaves of plants from the forest edge had more potassium (K) than leaves of plants from the forest interior on an area basis but not on a dry mass basis; the reverse was true for phosphorus.

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Canopy characteristics and growth rates of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir at long-established forest edges

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x07-105 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (11) ◽

pp. 2096-2105 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kelsey Sherich ◽

Amy Pocewicz ◽

Penelope Morgan

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Growth Rates ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Stand Density ◽

Growth Efficiency ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Forest Edges ◽

Sapwood Area

Trees respond to edge-to-interior microclimate differences in fragmented forests. To better understand tree physiological responses to fragmentation, we measured ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws) and Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco) leaf area, crown ratios, sapwood area, basal area (BA) growth rates, and BA growth efficiency at 23 long-established (>50 year) forest edges in northern Idaho. Trees located at forest edges had more leaf area, deeper crowns, higher BA growth rates, and more sapwood area at breast height than interior trees. Ponderosa pine had significantly higher BA growth efficiency at forest edges than interiors, but Douglas-fir BA growth efficiency did not differ, which may relate to differences in photosynthetic capacity and drought and shade tolerance. Edge orientation affected BA growth efficiency, with higher values at northeast-facing edges for both species. Edge effects were significant even after accounting for variation in stand density, which did not differ between the forest edge and interior. Although edge trees had significantly greater canopy depth on their edge-facing than forest-facing side, sapwood area was evenly distributed. We found no evidence that growing conditions at the forest edge were currently subjecting trees to stress, but higher leaf area and deeper crowns could result in lower tolerance to future drought conditions.

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Oak regeneration at the arid boundary of the temperate deciduous forest biome: insights from a seeding and watering experiment

European Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1007/s10342-020-01344-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

László Erdős ◽

Katalin Szitár ◽

Kinga Öllerer ◽

Gábor Ónodi ◽

Miklós Kertész ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Deciduous Forest ◽

Seedling Emergence ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Deciduous Forests ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Light Limitation ◽

Pedunculate Oak ◽

Forest Edges ◽

Oak Regeneration ◽

Temperate Deciduous

AbstractPrevious studies found that pedunculate oak, one of the most widespread and abundant species in European deciduous forests, regenerates in open habitats and forest edges, but not in closed forest interiors. However, these observations usually come from the core areas of the biome, and much less is known about such processes at its arid boundary, where limiting factors may be different. In a full factorial field experiment, we tested the effects of different habitats (grassland, forest edge, forest interior) and increased growing season precipitation on the early regeneration of pedunculate oak in a forest-steppe ecosystem in Central Hungary, at the arid boundary of temperate deciduous forests. In the grassland habitat, seedling emergence was very low, and no seedlings survived by the fourth year. In contrast, seedling emergence was high and similar at forest edges and forest interiors, and was not affected by water addition. Most seedlings survived until the fourth year, with no difference between forest edge and forest interior habitats in numbers, and only minor or transient differences in size. The lack of oak regeneration in the grassland differs from previous reports on successful oak regeneration in open habitats, and may be related to a shift from light limitation to other limiting factors, such as moisture or microclimatic extremes, when moving away from the core of the deciduous forest biome towards its arid boundary. The similar number and performance of seedlings in forest edges and forest interiors may also be related to the decreasing importance of light limitation.

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Changes in leaf functional traits of the endangered plant Disanthus cercidifolius var. longipes with plant growth and development

10.21203/rs.3.rs-17899/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fang-Qing Chen ◽

Shoupeng Guan ◽

Mengya Geng ◽

Kun Lv ◽

Yongwen Huang

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Principal Component ◽

Investment Strategy ◽

Leaf Water Content ◽

Endangered Plant ◽

Leaf Functional Traits ◽

Adult Plants

Abstract Background: Disanthus cercidifolius var. longipes H. T. Chang is a rare and endangered plant distributed only in the high mountains of southeastern China. In order to reveal the variation in leaf functional traits and plant investment strategies with the change of growth and developmental stages of this species, the leaf functional traits and the trait syndrome including leaf thickness (LT), leaf area (LA), leaf water content (LWC), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf total nitrogen content (LNC), and leaf total phosphorus content (LPC) of plants at different growth and developmental stages were investigated. Results:The leaf functional traits of the plants significantly differed at different developmental stages. LT and LA of the plants increased during growth and development. LT and LA of the adult plants were 36.65% and 84.23% higher than those of the seedlings, respectively. In contrast, SLA, LWC, LNC, and LPC decreased, and in adult plants they were 48.91%, 6.63%, 8.49%, and 34.66% lower, respectively, than in seedlings. Principal component analysis showed that as the plants developed, the trait syndrome changed toward increasing LT and LA and decreasing LWC, SLA, LNC, and LPC.Conclusions:The characteristics of leaf functional traits and trait syndromes changed across different stages of growth and development. The investment strategy changed from fast return to slow return as the plant grew and developed.

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Functional Trait Responses to Strip Clearcutting in a Moso Bamboo Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12060793 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 793

Author(s):

Yaxiong Zheng ◽

Fengying Guan ◽

Shaohui Fan ◽

Yang Zhou ◽

Xiong Jing

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Root Length ◽

Fine Root ◽

Root Traits ◽

Moso Bamboo ◽

Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Functional Characteristics ◽

Functional Features

Functional characteristics reflect plant strategies and adaptability to the changing environment. Determining the dynamics of these characteristics after harvesting would improve the understanding of forest response strategies. Strip clearcutting (SC) of moso bamboo forests, which significantly reduces the cutting cost, has been proposed to replace manual selective harvesting. A comparison of restoration features shows that 8 m is the optimal cutting width. However, the precise response of functional features to the resulting harvest-created gap remains unclear. In this study, three SC plots were selected which was performed in February 2019, with three unharvested plots as a control (C). The study focused on 10 functional traits, including leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), fine root biomass (FRB), specific fine root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD). A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in functional traits and soil nutrients between treatments. Strip clearcutting significantly reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.05). In terms of functional characteristics, SC significantly decreased LA and increased LNC, LPC, and N:P (p < 0.05). However, SC had no significant effect on fine root traits (p > 0.05). This study highlighted that root trait, soil content of total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) returned to the level of uncut plots after a year’s recovery. The LPC, LNC, and N:P were negatively correlated with LA, and LDMC and WD were negatively correlated with SLA, while the effect of SC on fine root traits was limited (p > 0.05). Fine root traits (FRB, RLD, and SRL) were positively associated with SOC, TN, and TP, but negatively correlated with TK. The changes in soil nutrient content caused by the removal of biomass were normal. Increased light and the rapid growth of new trees will increase nutrient regressions; therefore, these results further confirm the feasibility of SC.

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Remote Sensing to Study Mangrove Fragmentation and Its Impacts on Leaf Area Index and Gross Primary Productivity in the South of Peninsular Malaysia

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13081427 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1427

Author(s):

Kasturi Devi Kanniah ◽

Chuen Siang Kang ◽

Sahadev Sharma ◽

A. Aldrie Amir

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Leaf Area Index ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Area Index ◽

Mangrove Area ◽

The Mean ◽

Shape Complexity ◽

The Impact

Mangrove is classified as an important ecosystem along the shorelines of tropical and subtropical landmasses, which are being degraded at an alarming rate despite numerous international treaties having been agreed. Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is a fast-growing economic region in southern Peninsular Malaysia, where three Ramsar Sites are located. Since the beginning of the 21st century (2000–2019), a total loss of 2907.29 ha of mangrove area has been estimated based on medium-high resolution remote sensing data. This corresponds to an annual loss rate of 1.12%, which is higher than the world mangrove depletion rate. The causes of mangrove loss were identified as land conversion to urban, plantations, and aquaculture activities, where large mangrove areas were shattered into many smaller patches. Fragmentation analysis over the mangrove area shows a reduction in the mean patch size (from 105 ha to 27 ha) and an increase in the number of mangrove patches (130 to 402), edge, and shape complexity, where smaller and isolated mangrove patches were found to be related to the rapid development of IM region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) products were used to inspect the impact of fragmentation on the mangrove ecosystem process. The mean LAI and GPP of mangrove areas that had not undergone any land cover changes over the years showed an increase from 3.03 to 3.55 (LAI) and 5.81 g C m−2 to 6.73 g C m−2 (GPP), highlighting the ability of the mangrove forest to assimilate CO2 when it is not disturbed. Similarly, GPP also increased over the gained areas (from 1.88 g C m−2 to 2.78 g C m−2). Meanwhile, areas that lost mangroves, but replaced them with oil palm, had decreased mean LAI from 2.99 to 2.62. In fragmented mangrove patches an increase in GPP was recorded, and this could be due to the smaller patches (<9 ha) and their edge effects where abundance of solar radiation along the edges of the patches may increase productivity. The impact on GPP due to fragmentation is found to rely on the type of land transformation and patch characteristics (size, edge, and shape complexity). The preservation of mangrove forests in a rapidly developing region such as IM is vital to ensure ecosystem, ecology, environment, and biodiversity conservation, in addition to providing economical revenue and supporting human activities.

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Studies of Ant-Following Birds North of the Eastern Amazon

Acta Amazonica ◽

10.1590/1809-43921972022127 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 127-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yoshika Oniki ◽

Edwin O. Willis

Keyword(s):

Forest Edge ◽

Forest Edges ◽

Army Ants ◽

Forest Interior ◽

Second Growth

Abstract Birds that prey on arthropods flushed by army ants north of the eastern Amazon were studied at Serra do Navio and Reserva Ducke (Brazil) and at Nappi Creek and Bartica (Guyana). Regular ant-followers are two medium-sized antbirds (Percnostola rufifrons and Gymnopithys rufigula) and two smaller ones (Pithys albifrons and Hylophylax poecilonota), plus five woodcreepers of differing sizes (from very large Hylexetastes perrotti through Dendrocolaptes picumnus, D. certhia, and Dendrocincla merula to medium-sized Dendrocincla fuliginosa). Four other regular ant-followers occur in the region but were not found at the study areas. Forty-five species of casual or nonprofessional ant-followers, including 16 antbirds, 5 woodcreepers, and 5 manakins, also were recorded. Percnostola rufifrons tends to be at the forest edge or in second growth. Pithys albifrons works around Gymnopithys rufigula, Hylophylax poecilonota peripheral to both, in the forest interior. The large Dendrocolaptes picumnus and medium-large Dendrocincla merula often capture prey near the ground, like antbirds. Unlike antbirds, which use vertical or horizontal slender perches, the woodcreepers use thick vertical perches. Dendrocolaptes certhia and Dendrocincla fuliginosa also tend to capture prey high over the ground-foraging antbirds. The woodcreepers tend to forage lower at midday. Hylexetastes perrotti is rare, and overlaps strongly with D. picumnus. There is fairly large overlap among the 9 professional ant-followers, and large ones chase away smaller ones. Nonprofessional birds tend to forage briefly or peripherally when or slightly after the professional species are active. They also forage above the antbirds and below or above the woodcreepers, and concentrate at forest edges or in second growth. The guild of ant-following birds in this region differs fairly widely from guilds in Panamá and at Belém, Brazil; the absence of large antbirds and the predominance of large woodcreepers north of the Amazon are the major differences.

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Preadaptation and spatial effects on retention-tree survival in cut areas in Estonia

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x08-093 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 38 (10) ◽

pp. 2616-2625 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Raul Rosenvald ◽

Asko Lõhmus ◽

Andres Kiviste

Keyword(s):

Natural Disturbance ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Forest Site ◽

Spatial Effects ◽

Forest Edges ◽

Dead Trees ◽

Tree Survival ◽

Tree Retention ◽

Standing Dead ◽

Retention Trees

Survival of live retention trees is a key issue for stand-scale applications of natural-disturbance-based silviculture. We explored the survival of 3255 trees in 102 cut areas (mean size 2.3 ha) in Estonia for 6 years, focusing on spatial variation and preadaptation of the trees. Altogether, 35% of the trees died during the study period, contributing 4.4 m3 of downed dead trunks and 1 m3 of standing dead trees per hectare. The annual mortality rates declined over time. The main survival determinants were tree species (higher for hardwood deciduous trees), diameter (species dependent), position relative to forest edge (higher for trees near current or former forest edges), retention density (positive), and exposure (negative). The results suggest that (1) green-tree retention can effectively increase the abundance of large shade-tolerant trees, but it is equally important for producing deadwood; (2) larger individuals, former interior-forest trees near current forest edges, and preadapted trees in open conditions should be preferably retained; (3) there is no obvious necessity to modify tree-retention techniques for tree survival according to geographical region or forest site type.

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Estimation of Leaf Area of Jackfruit Through Non-destructive Method

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v11n6p77 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 77

Author(s):

Vinicius de Souza Oliveira ◽

Leonardo Raasch Hell ◽

Karina Tiemi Hassuda dos Santos ◽

Hugo Rebonato Pelegrini ◽

Jéssica Sayuri Hassuda Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Linear Equations ◽

Absolute Error ◽

Order Model ◽

Sanitary Condition ◽

Federal Institute ◽

Independent Variable ◽

Mathematical Equations ◽

The Mean ◽

Non Destructive

The objective of this study was to determine mathematical equations that estimate the leaf area of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) in an easy and non-destructive way based on linear dimensions. In this way, 300 leaves of different sizes and in good sanitary condition of adult plants were collected at the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo, Campus Itapina, located in Colatina, municipality north of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Were measured The length (L) along the midrib and the maximum leaf width (W), observed leaf area (OLA), besides the product of the multiplication of length with width (LW), length with length (LL) and width with width (WW). The models of linear equations of first degree, quadratic and power and their respective R2 were adjusted using OLA as dependent variable in function of L, W and LW, LL and WW as independent variable. The data were validated and the estimated leaf area (ELA) was obtained. The means of ELA and OLA were compared by Student’s t test (5% probability) and were evaluated by the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria. The choice of the best model was based on non-significant comparative values of ELA and OLA, in addition to the closest values of zero of EAM and RQME. The jackfruit leaf area estimate can be determined quickly, accurately and non-destructively by the linear first-order model with LW as the independent variable by equation ELA = 1.07451 + 0.71181(LW).

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Alometric Model for Estimation of Leaf Area of Garcinia brasiliensis Mart. Through Non-destructive Method

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v11n10p154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 154

Author(s):

Vinicius de Souza Oliveira ◽

Cássio Francisco Moreira de Carvalho ◽

Juliany Morosini França ◽

Flávia Barreto Pinto ◽

Karina Tiemi Hassuda dos Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Linear Equations ◽

Absolute Error ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Maximum Width ◽

Linear Dimensions ◽

Length Width ◽

Independent Variable ◽

The Mean ◽

Non Destructive

The objective of the present study was to test and establish mathematical models to estimate the leaf area of Garcinia brasiliensis Mart. through linear dimensions of the length, width and product of both measurements. In this way, 500 leaves of trees with age between 4 and 6 years were collected from all the cardinal points of the plant in the municipality of São Mateus, North of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The length (L) along the main midrib, the maximum width (W), the product of the length with the width (LW) and the observed leaf area (OLA) were obtained for all leaves. From these measurements were adjusted linear equations of first degree, quadratic and power, in which OLA was used as dependent variable as function of L, W and LW as independent variable. For the validation, the values of L, W and LW of 100 random leaves were substituted in the equations generated in the modeling, thus obtaining the estimated leaf area (ELA). The values of the means of ELA and OLA were tested by Student’s t test 5% of probability. The mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and Willmott’s index d for all proposed models were also determined. The choice of the best model was based on the non significant values in the comparison of the means of ELA and OLA, values of MAE and RMSE closer to zero and value of the index d and coefficient of determination (R2) close to unity. The equation that best estimates leaf area of Garcinia brasiliensis Mart. in a way non-destructive is the power model represented by por ELA = 0.7470(LW)0.9842 and R2 = 0.9949.

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