Water availability determines the richness and density of fig trees within Brazilian semideciduous forest landscapes


Autoria(s): Coelho, Luís Francisco Mello; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Pereira, Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo
Contribuinte(s)

Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

Data(s)

27/05/2014

27/05/2014

11/03/2013

Resumo

The success of fig trees in tropical ecosystems is evidenced by the great diversity (+750 species) and wide geographic distribution of the genus. We assessed the contribution of environmental variables on the species richness and density of fig trees in fragments of seasonal semideciduous forest (SSF) in Brazil. We assessed 20 forest fragments in three regions in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Fig tree richness and density was estimated in rectangular plots, comprising 31.4 ha sampled. Both richness and fig tree density were linearly modeled as function of variables representing (1) fragment metrics, (2) forest structure, and (3) landscape metrics expressing water drainage in the fragments. Model selection was performed by comparing the AIC values (Akaike Information Criterion) and the relative weight of each model (wAIC). Both species richness and fig tree density were better explained by the water availability in the fragment (meter of streams/ha): wAICrichness = 0.45, wAICdensity = 0.96. The remaining variables related to anthropic perturbation and forest structure were of little weight in the models. The rainfall seasonality in SSF seems to select for both establishment strategies and morphological adaptations in the hemiepiphytic fig tree species. In the studied SSF, hemiepiphytes established at lower heights in their host trees than reported for fig trees in evergreen rainforests. Some hemiepiphytic fig species evolved superficial roots extending up to 100 m from their trunks, resulting in hectare-scale root zones that allow them to efficiently forage water and soil nutrients. The community of fig trees was robust to variation in forest structure and conservation level of SSF fragments, making this group of plants an important element for the functioning of seasonal tropical forests. © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Identificador

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2013.02.002

Acta Oecologica.

1146-609X

http://hdl.handle.net/11449/74817

10.1016/j.actao.2013.02.002

WOS:000336191000015

2-s2.0-84874592947

Idioma(s)

eng

Relação

Acta Oecologica

Direitos

closedAccess

Palavras-Chave #Community ecology #Habitat fragmentation #Hemiepiphyte #Moraceae #Mutualism #Seasonal forest
Tipo

info:eu-repo/semantics/article