Abstract
The flood pulse operates as a regulator for the timing of phenological events, the phenology of Amazonian floodplain tree species is linked to the seasonal water-level changes. Many tree species shed and resprout leaves during the high-water season. Flowering and fruiting reach their peaks during the aquatic phase. However, with the present knowledge, there is still a discussion about the possible triggers which are responsible for these phenological events. Long-term studies of several years are lacking, and the results presented by various authors are not directly comparable. Inter- and intraspecific variations at all levels along the flood gradient, and between várzea and igapó, are frequent. Many Amazonian floodplain tree species occur in non-flooded ecosystems where phenology is triggered by precipitation, drought, solar irradiance, and temperature. It is possible that these factors act also in the floodplains, but the extent is not clear.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Adis J, Furch K, Irmler U (1979) Litter production of a central Amazonian blackwater inundation forest. Tropical Ecology 20:236–245
Aide TM (1993) Patterns of leaf development and herbivory in a tropical understory community. Ecology 74:455–466
Alvim P de T, Alvim R (1978) Relation of climate to growth periodicity in tropical trees. In: Tomlinson PB, Zimmermann MH (eds) Tropical trees as living systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 445–464
Appanah S (1985) General flowering in the climax rain forests of south-east Asia. J Trop Ecol 1:225–240
Armbrüster N (1999) Auswirkungen von Überflutung auf Photosynthese, Blattphysiologie und Phänologie zweier Baumarten des zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungswaldes. Diplomarbeit Uni Oldenburg, p 88
Ashton PS, Givnish TJ, Appanah S (1988) Staggered flowering in the Dipterocarpaceae: new insights into floral induction and the evolution of mast fruiting in the aseasonal tropics. Am Naturalist 231:44–66
Augspurger CK (1981) Reproductive synchrony of a tropical shrub: experimental studies on effects of pollinator and seed predators on Hybanthus prunifolius (Violaceae). Ecology 62:775–788
Ayres JM (1993) As matas de várzea do Mamirauá. In: Sociedade civil Mamirauá (ed) Estudos de Mamirauá, vol.1. Sociedade civil Mamirauá, Mamirauá, pp 1-123
Blom CWPM, Voesenek LACJ (1996) Flooding: the survival strategies of plants. Tree 11(7):290–295
Borchert R (1991) Growth periodicity and dormancy. In: Raghavendra AS (ed) Physiology of trees. Wiley, New York, pp 21–245
Borchert R (1994a) Soil and stem water storage determine phenology and distribution of tropical dry forest trees. Ecology 75:1437–1449
Borchert R (1994b) Water status and development of tropical trees during seasonal drought. Trees 8:115–125
Borchert R, Rivera G (2001) Photoperiodic control of seasonal development and dormancy in tropical stem-succulent trees. Tree Physiol 21:201–212
Bullock SH, Solís-Magallanes JA (1990) Phenology of canopy trees of a tropical deciduous forest in México. Biotropica 22:22–35
Coley PD, Barone JA (1996) Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Ann Rev Ecol System 27:305–335
De Simone O, Haase K, Müller E, Junk WJ, Hartmann K, Schreiber L, Schmidt W (2003a) Central amazon floodplain forests: root adaptations to prolonged flooding. Russ J Plant Physiol 50:848–855
De Simone O, Junk WJ, Schmidt W (2003b) Central Amazon floodplain forests: root adaptations to prolonged flooding. Russ J Plant Physiol 50(6):848–855
Ferreira LV (1991) O efeito do periodo de inundação na zonação de comunidades, fenologia e regeneração em uma floresta de igapó na Amazonia Central. Master Thesis, INPA, Manaus, p 161
Ferreira LV (1998) Intraspecific variation in phenology in relation to flooding duration in Eschweilera parviflora (Lecythidaceae) in central Amazonian floodplain forest. An Acad Bras Ci 70:1–4
Franken M, Irmler U, Klinge H (1979) Litterfall in inundation, riverine and terra firme forests of Central Amazonia. Trop Ecol 20(2):225–235
Frankie GW, Baker HG, Opler PA (1974) Comparative phenological studies of trees in tropical wet and dry forests in the lowlands of Costa Rica. J Ecol 62:881–899
Gentry AH (1974) Flowering phenology and diversity in tropical Bignoniaceae. Biotropica 6:64–68
Gessner F (1968) Zur ökologischen Problematik der Überschwemmungswälder des Amazonas. Int Rev Ges Hydrobiol 53(4):525–547
Gill CJ (1970) The flooding tolerance of woody species – a review. Forest Abstr 31(4):671–688
Goulding M (1983) The role of fishes in seed dispersal and plant distribution in Amazonian floodplain ecosystems. Sonderbd Naturwiss Ver Hamburg 7:271–283
Gribel R, Gibbs PE, Queiróz AL (1999) Flowering phenology and pollination biology of Ceiba pentandra in Central Amazonia. J Trop Ecol 15:247–263
Gribel R, Hay JD (1993) Pollination ecology of Caryocar brasiliense (Caryocaraceae) in Central Brazil cerrado vegetation. J Trop Ecol 9:199–211
Haugaasen T, Peres CA (2005) Tree phenology in adjacent Amazonian flooded and unflooded forests. Biotropica 37(4):620–630
Janzen DH (1967) Synchronization of sexual reproduction of trees within the dry season in Central America. Evolution 21:620–637
Junk WJ (1989) Flood tolerance and tree distribution in central Amazonian floodplains. In: Holm-Nielsen LB, Nielsen IC, Balslev H (eds) Tropical forests: botanical dynamics, speciation and diversity. Academic Press, New York, pp 47–64
Junk WJ, Barley PB, Sparks RE (1989) The flood-pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 106:110–127
Kahn F, Henderson A (1999) An overview of the palms of the várzea in the Amazon region. In: Padoch C, Ayres M, Pinedo-Vasquez M, Henderson A (eds) Várzea: diversity, development, and conservation of Amazonia’s whitewater floodplains. New York Botanical Garden Press, New York, pp 187–193
Klinge H, Furch K, Harms E, Revilla J (1983) Foliar nutrient levels of native tree species from central Amazonia. 1 Inundation forests. Amazoniana 8:19–45
Kochmer JP, Handel SN (1986) Constraints and competition in the evolution of flowering phenology. Ecol Monograph 56:303–325
Kozlowski TT (1984a) Plant response to flooding of soil. BioScience 34(3):162–167
Kozlowski TT (1984b) Responses of woody plants to flooding. Flooding and plant growth. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, pp 129–163
Kubitzki K, Ziburski A (1994) Seed dispersal in floodplain forest of Amazonia. Biotropica 26(1):30–43
Leopold AC (1951) Photoperiodism in plants. Quarterly Rev Biol 26:247–263
Lobo JA, Quesada M, Stoner KE, Fuchs EJ, Herrerias-Diego Y, Rojas J, Saborio G (2003) Factors affecting phenological patterns of bombacaceous trees in seasonal forests in Costa Rica and Mexico. Am J Bot 90:1054–1063
Maia LA (1997) Influência do pulso de inundação na fisiologia, fenologia e produçao de frutos de Hevea spruceana (Euphorbiaceae) e Eschweilera tenuifolia (Lecythidaceae), em área inundável de igapó da Amazônia central. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, INPA/FUA Manaus, p 186
Marquis RJ (1988) Phenological variation in the neotropical understory shrub Piper arieianum: causes and consequences. Ecology 69:1552–1565
Medina E (1983) Adaptations of tropical trees to moisture stress. In: Golley FB (ed) Ecosystems of the world: tropical rain forest ecosystems. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Oxford/New York, pp 225–237
Meyer U (1991) Feinwurzelsysteme und Mykorrhizatypen als Anpassungsmechanismen in zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungswäldern- Igapó and Várzea. Ph.D. thesis, University of Hohenheim, Germany
Moegenburg SM (2002) Spatial and temporal variation in hydrochory in Amazonian floodplain forest. Biotropica 34:606–612
Murali K, Sukumar SR (1994) Reproductive phenology of a tropical dry forest in Mudumalai, southern India. J Ecol 82:759–767
Murray K, Feinsinger GP, Busby HW, Linhart YB, Beach JH, Kinsman S (1987) Evaluation of character displacement among plants in two tropical pollination guilds. Ecology 68:1283–1293
Nebel G, Dragsted J, Salazar Vega A (2001a) Litter fall, biomass and net primary production in flood plain forests in the Peruvian Amazon. Forest Ecol Manag 150:93–102
Nebel G, Dragsted J, Simonsen TR, Vanclay JK (2001b) The Amazon flood plain forest tree Maquira coriacea (Karsten) CC Berg: aspects of ecology and management. Forest Ecol Manage 150:103–113
Oliveira AC (1998) Aspectos da dinâmica populacional de Salix martiana Leyb (Salicaceae), em áreas de várzea da Amazônia Central. Master Thesis INPA/FUA, pp 83
Opler PA, Frankie GW, Baker HG (1976) Rainfall as a factor in the release, timing, and synchronization of anthesis by tropical trees and shrubs. J Biogeogr 3:231–236
Parolin P (1997) Auswirkungen periodischer Vernässung und Überflutung auf Phänologie, Photosynthese und Blattphysiologie von Baumarten unterschiedlicher Wachstumsstrategie in zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungsgebieten. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Hamburg, p 156
Parolin P (1998) Floristic composition and structure of two stands of Senna reticulata differing in age. Amazoniana 15(1/2):113–128
Parolin P (2001b) Phenology and photosynthesis of six tree species in Central Amazonian floodplains. In: Palo M, Uusivuori J, Mery G (eds) World forests, markets and policies. World forests vol III. Kluwer, Dordrecht/London/Boston, pp 304–305
Piedade MTF (1985) Ecologia e biologia reprodutiva de Astrocaryum jauari Mart. (Palmae) como exemplo de populaçao adaptada as áreas inundáveis do rio Negro. Unpublished Master thesis INPA, Manaus
Prance GT (1979) Notes on the vegetation of Amazonia. 3. The terminology of Amazonian forest types subject to inundation. Brittonia 31:26–38
Queiroz HL (1995) Preguiças e Guaribas: os Mamíferos Folívoros Arborícolas doMamirauá. MCT/CNPq, Sociedade Civíl Mamirauá, Brasília
Reich PB, Borchert R (1982) Phenology and ecophysiology of the tropical tree, Tabebuia neochrysantha (Bignoniaceae). Ecology 63(2):294–299
Reich PB, Borchert R (1984) Water stress and tree phenology in a tropical dry forest in the lowlands of Costa Rica. J Ecol 72:61–74
Revilla JD (1981) Aspectos Florísticos e Fitossociológicos da Floresta Inundável (igapó). Praia Grande, Tio Negro, Amazonas. Master thesis, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus
Revilla JDC (1991) Aspéctos florísticos e estruturais da floresta inundável (várzea) do baixo Solimões, Amazonas, Brasil. Doctoral Thesis, INPA, Manaus, pp 151
Rivera G, Elliott S, Caldas LS, Nicolossi G, Coradin VTR, Borchert R (2002) Increasing day-length induces spring flushing of tropical dry forest trees in the absence of rain. Trees 16:445–456
Robertson C (1895) The philosophy of flower seasons, and the phenological relations of the entomophilous flora and the anthophilous insect fauna. Am Nat 29:97–117
Sakai S, Momose K, Yumoto T, Nagamitsu T, Nagamasu H, Hamid AA, Nakasiiizuka T (1999) Plant reproductive phenology over four years including an episode of general flowering in a lowland dipterocarp forest, Sarwak, Malaysia. Am J Bot 86:1414–1436
Schlüter U-B (1989) Morphologische, anatomische und physiologische Untersuchungen zur Überflutungstoleranz zweier charakteristischer Baumarten (Astrocaryum jauari und Macrolobium acaciaefolium) des Weiss- und Schwarz-wasserüberschwemmungswaldes bei Manaus.- ein Beitrag zur Ökosystemanalyse von Várzea und Igapó Zentralamazoniens. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Kiel, Germany
Schlüter UB, Furch B (1992) Morphologische, anatomische und physiologische Untersuchungen zur Überflutungstoleranz des Baumes Macrolobium acaciaefolium, charakteristisch für die Weißund Schwarzwasser-Überschwemmungswälder bei Manaus, Amazonas. Amazoniana 12:51–69
Schlüter UB, Furch B, Joly CA (1993) Physiological and anatomical adaptations by young Astrocaryum jauari Mart (Arecaceae) in periodically inundated biotopes of Central Amazonia. Biotropica 25(4):384–396
Schöngart J, Piedade MTF, Ludwigshausen S, Horna V, Worbes M (2002) Phenology and stem-growth periodicity of tree species in Amazonian floodplain forests. J Trop Ecol 18:581–597
Schöngart J, Wittmann F, Worbes M (this volume b) Biomass and NPP of Central Amazonian floodplain forests. In: Junk WJ, Piedade MTF, Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Parolin P (eds) Central Amazonian floodplain forests: ecophysiology, biodiversity and sustainable management. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York
Seghieri J, Floret C, Pontanier R (1995) Plant phenology in relation to water availability: herbaceous and woody species in the savannas of northern Cameroon. J Trop Ecol 11:237–254
Snow DW (1965) A possible selective factor in the evolution of fruiting seasons in tropical forest. Oikos 15:274–281
Stiles FG (1975) Ecology, flowering phenology, and hummingbird pollination of some Costa Rican Heliconia species. Ecology 56:285–301
Stiles FG (1977) Coadapted competitors: the flowering seasons of hummingbird-pollinated plants in a tropical forest. Science 198:1170–1178
Tallak Nilsen E, Muller WH (1981) Phenology of the drought-deciduous shrub Lotus scoparius: climatic controls and adaptive significance. Ecolog Monograph 51:323–341
van Schaik CP (1986) Phenological changes in a Sumatran rain forest. J Trop Ecol 2:327–347
van Schaik CP, Terborgh JW, Wright SJ (1993) The phenology of tropical forests: adaptive significance and consequences for primary consumers. Ann Rev Ecol System 24:353–377
Waldhoff D, Furch B (2002) Leaf morphology and anatomy in eleven tree species from Central Amazonian floodplains (Brazil). Amazoniana 17:79–94
Williams-Linera G (1997) Phenology of deciduous and broad leaf evergreen tree species in a Mexican tropical lower montane forest. Global Ecol Biogeogr Lett 6:115–127
Wittmann F (1997) Die Várzea-Wälder Zentralamazoniens – Phänologische Untersuchungen ausgewählter Baumarten zur Reaktion auf den annuellen Flutungsstreß. Master thesis, Geographisches Institut Universität Mannheim, p 89
Wittmann F, Anhuf D, Junk WJ (2002a) Detection of different forest types in Central Amazonian Várzea by remote sensing techniques – preliminary results. In: Lieberei R, Bianchi H-K, Boehm V, Reisdorff C (eds) Neotropical ecosystems. Proceedings of the German-Brazilian Workshop, Hamburg 2000, GKSS-Geesthacht, Germany, pp 607–661
Wittmann F, Anhuf D, Junk WJ (2002b) Tree species distribution and community structure of central Amazonian várzea forests by remote-sensing techniques. J Trop Ecol 18:805–820
Wittmann F, Parolin P (1999) Phenology of six tree species from central Amazonian várzea. Ecotropica 5(1):51–57
Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Junk WJ (this volume) Phytogeography, species diversity, community structure and dynamics of central Amazonian floodplain forests. In: Junk WJ, Piedade MTF, Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Parolin P (eds) Central Amazonian floodplain forests: ecophysiology, biodiversity and sustainable management. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York
Worbes M (1983) Vegetationskundliche Untersuchungen zweier Überschwemmungswälder in Zentralamazonien – vorläufige Ergebnisse. Amazoniana 8(1):47–66
Worbes M (1986) Lebensbedingungen und Holzwachstum in zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungswäldern. Erich Goltze, Göttingen. Scripta Geobotanica 17:1–112
Worbes M (1992) Occurrence of seasonal climate and tree-ring research in the tropics. Lundqua Report 34:338–342
Worbes M (1996) Rhythmisches Wachstum und anatomisch-morphologische Anpassungen an Lebensstrategien von Bäumen in zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungswäldern. Mitt Dtsch Dendrol Ges 82:155–172
Worbes M (1997) The forest ecosystem of the floodplains. In: Junk WJ (ed) The central Amazon floodplain: ecology of a pulsating system. Ecolog Stud 126:223–265. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York
Worbes M (1999) Annual growth rings, rainfall-dependent growth and long-term growth patterns of tropical trees from the Caparo Forest Reserve in Venezuela. J Ecol 87:391–403
Worbes M, Fichtler E (this volume) Wood anatomy and tree-ring structure and their importance for tropical dendrochronology. In: Junk WJ, Piedade MTF, Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Parolin P (eds) Central Amazonian floodplain forests: ecophysiology, biodiversity and sustainable management. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York
Wright SJ (1991) Seasonal drought and the phenology of understory shrubs in a tropical moist forest. Ecology 72:1643–1657
Wright SJ, Calderón O (1995) Phylogenetic patterns among tropical flowering phenologies. J Ecol 83:937–948
Wright SJ, Cornejo FH (1990) Seasonal drought and leaf fall in a tropical forest. Ecology 71:1165–1175
Wright SJ, van Schaik CP (1994) Light and the phenology of tropical trees. Am Nat 143:192–199
Ziburski A (1990) Ausbreitungs- und Reproduktionsbiologie einiger Baumarten der amazonischen Überschwemmungswälder. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University Hamburg
Ziburski A (1991) Dissemination, Keimung und Etablierung einiger Baumarten der Überschwemmungswälder Amazoniens. In: Rauh W (ed) Tropische und subtropische Pflanzenwelt. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur 77:1–96
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Parolin, P., Wittmann, F. (2010). Tree Phenology in Amazonian Floodplain Forests. In: Junk, W., Piedade, M., Wittmann, F., Schöngart, J., Parolin, P. (eds) Amazonian Floodplain Forests. Ecological Studies, vol 210. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8725-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8725-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8724-9
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8725-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)