Liana abundance and tree crown re-infestation 10-years after liana and bamboo cutting in a subtropical forest: was there opportunity for tree regeneration?

CAMPANELLO, PAULA INÉS; VILLAGRA, MARIANA; GARIBALDI, JUAN F.; RITTER, LUIS; ARAUJO, JORGE; GOLDSTEIN, GUILLERMO

Bonito

Congreso; 49th Annual Meeting of the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation; 2012

ATBC

Lianas are key components of tropical and subtropical forests as they are able to affect tree growth, survival and diversity, ultimately enhancing gap formation as a consequence of severe liana load and driving forest dynamics into a loop of increasing disturbance. In this study we examined (1) if liana abundance, basal area and tree infestation increased from 2000 to 2010 in northern Argentina , (2) if liana and bamboo cutting decreased liana richness and abundance, (3) if liana re-infested host trees 10 years after cutting, and finally (4) if liana removal treatment increased tree regeneration. To assess these questions we measured liana and tree sapling abundance, richness and basal area, and quantified tree and sapling infestation in a 10-year old experiment consisting of 3 control and 3 liana cutting plots. According to our results, basal area and abundance of lianas are increasing in Northern Argentina as observed in other forests around the world. Tree infestation was enhanced as a result of facilitation (i.e., the presence of lianas climbing a tree favor new arriving lianas), increased tree size and aging. Liana shedding was observed for some individuals at the time others became infested, but three of six focal tree species studied were not able to dump lianas or were rapidly re-colonized. The length of the main stem affected the re-colonization process of host trees in treated plots (i.e, trees with short trunks, besides being unable of shedding lianas, were quickly re-colonized). Liana species richness and abundance of tree saplings was not affected by the removal treatment. Overall, our results are indicating a rapid recovery of liana biomass after 10 years of treatment.