Composition and ecology of vascular epiphyte communities along an altitudinal gradient in central Veracruz, Mexico

1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hietz ◽  
Ursula Hietz-Seifert
Keyword(s):  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

scholarly journals A protocol for sampling vascular epiphyte richness and abundance

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. D. Wolf ◽  
S. Robbert Gradstein ◽  
Nalini M. Nadkarni
Keyword(s):  
Tree Height ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Mantel Test ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Trunk Diameter ◽  
Host Trees ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

Abstract:The sampling of epiphytes is fraught with methodological difficulties. We present a protocol to sample and analyse vascular epiphyte richness and abundance in forests of different structure (SVERA). Epiphyte abundance is estimated as biomass by recording the number of plant components in a range of size cohorts. Epiphyte species biomass is estimated on 35 sample-trees, evenly distributed over six trunk diameter-size cohorts (10 trees with dbh > 30 cm). Tree height, dbh and number of forks (diameter > 5 cm) yield a dimensionless estimate of the size of the tree. Epiphyte dry weight and species richness between forests is compared with ANCOVA that controls for tree size. SChao1 is used as an estimate of the total number of species at the sites. The relative dependence of the distribution of the epiphyte communities on environmental and spatial variables may be assessed using multivariate analysis and Mantel test. In a case study, we compared epiphyte vegetation of six Mexican oak forests and one Colombian oak forest at similar elevation. We found a strongly significant positive correlation between tree size and epiphyte richness or biomass at all sites. In forests with a higher diversity of host trees, more trees must be sampled. Epiphyte biomass at the Colombian site was lower than in any of the Mexican sites; without correction for tree size no significant differences in terms of epiphyte biomass could be detected. The occurrence of spatial dependence, at both the landscape level and at the tree level, shows that the inclusion of spatial descriptors in SVERA is justified.

Role of spatial and environmental factors in structuring vascular epiphyte communities in two neotropical ecosystems

2021 ◽  
pp. 125621
Author(s):  
Talitha Mayumi Francisco ◽  
Dayvid Rodrigues Couto ◽  
Mário Luís Garbin ◽  
Flora Misaki ◽  
Carlos Rámon Ruiz-Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

scholarly journals Arboreal Epiphytes in the Soil-Atmosphere Interface: How Often Are the Biggest “Buckets” in the Canopy Empty?

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey Hargis ◽  
Sybil G. Gotsch ◽  
Philipp Porada ◽  
Georgianne W. Moore ◽  
Briana Ferguson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Global Evaluation ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Water Storage Capacity ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Forest Biogeochemistry ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

Arboreal epiphytes (plants residing in forest canopies) are present across all major climate zones and play important roles in forest biogeochemistry. The substantial water storage capacity per unit area of the epiphyte “bucket” is a key attribute underlying their capability to influence forest hydrological processes and their related mass and energy flows. It is commonly assumed that the epiphyte bucket remains saturated, or near-saturated, most of the time; thus, epiphytes (particularly vascular epiphytes) can store little precipitation, limiting their impact on the forest canopy water budget. We present evidence that contradicts this common assumption from (i) an examination of past research; (ii) new datasets on vascular epiphyte and epi-soil water relations at a tropical montane cloud forest (Monteverde, Costa Rica); and (iii) a global evaluation of non-vascular epiphyte saturation state using a process-based vegetation model, LiBry. All analyses found that the external and internal water storage capacity of epiphyte communities is highly dynamic and frequently available to intercept precipitation. Globally, non-vascular epiphytes spend <20% of their time near saturation and regionally, including the humid tropics, model results found that non-vascular epiphytes spend ~1/3 of their time in the dry state (0–10% of water storage capacity). Even data from Costa Rican cloud forest sites found the epiphyte community was saturated only 1/3 of the time and that internal leaf water storage was temporally dynamic enough to aid in precipitation interception. Analysis of the epi-soils associated with epiphytes further revealed the extent to which the epiphyte bucket emptied—as even the canopy soils were often <50% saturated (29–53% of all days observed). Results clearly show that the epiphyte bucket is more dynamic than currently assumed, meriting further research on epiphyte roles in precipitation interception, redistribution to the surface and chemical composition of “net” precipitation waters reaching the surface.

Post-stripping recolonization of vascular epiphytes in cloud-forest fragments in Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margoth Acuña-Tarazona ◽  
Tarin Toledo-Aceves ◽  
Alejandro Flores-Palacios ◽  
Vinicio J. Sosa ◽  
M. Luisa Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Forest ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Recovery Capacity ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Accumulation Curves ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

Abstract:The response of vascular epiphyte communities following natural or human disturbance has been little studied. Over 5 y, we evaluated the post-stripping recolonization of vascular epiphytes in cloud forest. Vascular epiphytes were experimentally removed from branch and trunk plots (1 m in length) on five trees in two secondary cloud forest fragments in southern Mexico. Similarity between colonizer and established communities was compared in each fragment using a further five trees with no stripping. All seedlings were recorded yearly. Non-vascular epiphyte cover was estimated in each plot. The recolonization rate was very high; after 5 y, epiphyte density of the colonizer community (27.4 ± 6.8 individuals per segment) reached similar values to those of the established community (26.7 ± 3.3) in nearby trees. While similarity (composition and abundance) between the colonizer community and established community was high (81%), diversity accumulation curves indicated that the colonizer community presents a lower diversity of epiphytes (5.5 equivalent species) than the established community (11.4). Colonization of xerophytic bromeliads was high, while pteridophytes and orchids presented reduced recovery. The immediately surrounding source of propagules had a strong influence on recolonization. In both the colonizer and established communities, dominance rank was bromeliads > peperomias > pteridophytes. The results show that the recovery capacity of epiphytic vegetation in secondary forest is high, if propagule sources are close by. However, at 5 y after disturbance, it is unclear whether the colonizer community would present the same species composition as the established community or if it would give rise to a different community.

The long-term effect of typhoons on vascular epiphytes in Taiwan

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 308-315
Author(s):  
Rebecca C.-C. Hsu ◽  
Jan H.D. Wolf ◽  
Jer-Min Tsai ◽  
Yi-Chin Lin
Keyword(s):  
Term Effect ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Grid Cells ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Pearson's R ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Pearson’S R ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

Abstract:We used all 167 typhoon warnings issued by the Taiwanese Central Weather Bureau from 1958–2006 to assess the long-term effect of cyclone disturbance on vascular epiphytes. Tracks and eyes of past typhoons were plotted as circles with radii of Beaufort scale 7 and 10, and the frequency of each cohort in 1-km2 grid cells was calculated. The presence of vascular epiphytes in the same grid cells was predicted using species distribution models (SDMs). First, we used herbarium specimens and other sources to compile a comprehensive georeferenced vascular epiphyte database that contained 39084 records in 331 species. Next, we assigned each epiphyte record to a cell in the same 1-km2 grid as above. Finally, we used SDMs (MaXent), based on 30 environmental variables except typhoon frequency, to predict the potential presence of each species in the grid cells. For our analysis we only considered cells east of the central mountain ridge where typhoons hit with full force. After elimination of rare species and species that could not be validated in the SDMs, we were left with 156 epiphyte species in 10725 1-km2 cells. The number of projected species in the cells was 36.5 on average, varying between two and 82 species. Correlation analyses showed that, over time, typhoons led to a decrease in epiphyte richness at Beaufort scale 7 and 10 (Pearson's r = −0.07 and −0.08 respectively). Ferns, orchids, hemiepiphytes and dicotyledons generally showed the same pattern, except hemiepiphytes that showed a positive correlation at B7 (Pearson's r = 0.15). A partial canonical correspondence ordination analysis showed that, independent of temperature- and rainfall-related variables, Beaufort scale 7 and 10 typhoons also had significant influence on the species composition of the vascular epiphyte communities in the landscape. We recommend in situ monitoring of epiphytes over a long period to corroborate the suggestion from this indirect study that typhoons have a long-term effect on the distribution of epiphytes in Taiwan.

The population structure of the vascular epiphytes in a lowland forest in Panama correlates with species abundance

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Zotz
Keyword(s):  
Census Data ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Lowland Forest ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Epiphyte Community ◽  
Vascular Epiphyte

The long-term dynamics of epiphyte communities are little studied although such baseline data are urgently needed, in particular in the context of global change. Census data of a vascular epiphyte community from 0.4 ha of undisturbed lowland forest in Panama were used to infer future changes in community composition by deducing population growth from the current size class structure of populations. The study includes 11 387 individuals out of 45 species, ranging in abundance from 16 to 1568 individuals. There was a significant negative correlation between the size of a population and the steepness of the size distribution, indicating that more common species are likely to increase in abundance in the future, while rarer species apparently depend on immigration from other populations to allow local persistence.

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