Species assemblages and their drivers differ between trees and lianas in a seasonal evergreen forest in Thailand

Author:

Chanthorn Wirong12ORCID,Wiegand Thorsten13ORCID,Nathalang Anuttara4ORCID,Kanagaraj Rajapandian125ORCID,Davies Stuart6ORCID,Sun Zhenhua7ORCID,Tripathi Nitin K.8ORCID,Réjou‐Méchain Maxime9ORCID,Brockelman Warren Y.410ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Ecological Modelling Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ Leipzig Germany

2. Department of Environmental Technology and Management, Faculty of Environment Kasetsart University Bangkok Thailand

3. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany

4. National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), National Science and Technology Development Agency Klong Luang Pathum Thani Thailand

5. French Institute of Pondicherry–IFP Puducherry India

6. Forest Global Earth Observatory Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama Republic of Panama

7. CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Mengla Yunnan China

8. Department of Information and Communication Technologies School of Engineering and Technology (SET), Asian Institute of Technology Klong Luang Pathum Thani Thailand

9. AMAP, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD Montpellier France

10. Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University Salaya Nakhon Pathom Thailand

Abstract

AbstractDespite a long tradition in ecology of studying tree species assembly and its potential drivers in tropical forest communities, little information exists with respect to lianas (woody climbers), the second most abundant life form of woody plants in tropical forests. Lianas influence forest diversity and stability and provide critical resources for forest fauna. Using a unique dataset of a 30‐ha plot in Thailand, where tree and liana individuals were fully mapped, we investigated the degree to which local species assemblages of trees and lianas of different size classes (i.e., seedlings, established individuals, and large individuals) are related to local environmental conditions. We asked (1) What are the spatial patterns and environmental drivers of local tree and liana species assemblages? (2) How do such patterns and drivers differ among size classes? (3) Which species associate with these assemblages? Local assemblages of established trees showed substantial structuring by environmental variables, whereas we found only weakly structured assemblages of tree seedlings, large trees, and lianas of all size classes. Our results indicated that the biotic and abiotic drivers of local species assemblages differed strongly between tree and liana communities and across size classes. Species assemblages of trees were mainly driven by soil nutrients, leading to patchy assemblages associated with high base saturation (Alfisols) and assemblages associated with lower levels of base saturation and higher aluminum (Ultisols), whereas tree seedling assemblages were only weakly structured by riparian zones. In contrast, species assemblages of established and large lianas were primarily associated with forest canopy structure, separating low‐canopy forests from high‐canopy forests, whereas soil nutrients were the only factors associated with liana seedling assemblages. The weak environmental structuring of tree seedlings and large trees suggests that other mechanisms, such as stochastic disturbances, competition for space, or animal seed dispersal, may play an important role in structuring tree communities in this seasonal tropical forest. The weak patterns observed in liana communities across all life stages raise questions about the underlying mechanisms of liana community assembly, and further research should focus on liana niches, their dispersal mechanisms, and host tree relations.

Funder

Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

National Science and Technology Development Agency

Publisher

Wiley

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