Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Does flood tolerance explain tree species distribution in tropical seasonally flooded habitats?

  • Ecophysiology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the tropics, seasonally flooded forests (SFF) harbor fewer tree species than terra firme (i.e. non-flooded) forests. The low species diversity of tropical flooded forests has been ascribed to the paucity of species with adaptations to tolerate flooding. To test the hypothesis that flooding is the only factor restricting most species from SFF, we compared plant morphological and physiological responses to flooding in 2-month old seedlings of 6 species common to SFF and 12 species common to terra firme forests. Although flooding impaired growth, total biomass, maximum root length and stomatal conductance in most species, responses varied greatly and were species-specific. For example, after 90 days, flooding reduced leaf area growth by 10–50% in all species, except in Tabebuia, a common species from non-flooded habitats. Similarly, flooding had a 5–45% negative effect on total biomass for all species, except in 1 SFF and 1 terra firme species both of which had more biomass under flooding. A principal component analysis, using the above responses to flooding, provided no evidence that SFF and terra firme species differed in their responses to flooding. Flooding also caused reductions in root growth for most species. Rooting depth and root: shoot ratios were significantly less affected by flooding in SFF than in terra firme species. Although flood tolerance is critical for survival in flooded habitats, we hypothesize that responses to post-flooding events such as drought might be equally important in seasonal habitats. Therefore, we suggest that the ability to grow roots under anoxia might be critical in predicting success in inundated habitats that also experience a strong dry season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2A, B.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrade ACS, Ramos FN, De Souza AF, Loureiro MB, Bastos R (1999) Flooding effects in seedlings of Cytharexylum myrianthum Cham. and Genipa americana L.: responses of two neotropical lowland tree species. Rev Bras Bot [Supl] 22:281–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry PE, Holst B, Yatskievych K (1995) Flora of the Venezuelan Guyana, vol 1. Introduction. Missouri Botanical Garden, Timber Press, Portland, Ore.

  • Black GA, Dobzhansky T, Pavan C (1950) Some attempts to estimate species diversity and population density of trees in Amazonian forests. Bot Gaz 111:413–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callado CH, Neto SJD, Scarano FR, Barros CF, Costa CG (2001) Periodicity of growth rings in some flood-prone trees of the Atlantic Rain Forests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Trees 15:492–497

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell DG, Stone JL, Rosas A Jr (1992) A comparison of the phytosociology and dynamics of three (várzea) forests of known ages, Rio Juruá, Western Brazilian Amazon. Bot J Linn Soc 108:213–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL, Pearcy RW, Lee DW, Fetcher N (1996) Photosynthetic responses of tropical forest plants to contrasting light environments. In: Mulkey SS, Chazdon RL, Smith AP (eds) Tropical forest plant ecophysiology. Chapman and Hall, New York, pp 5–55

  • Cobin RJ, Mitchell RJ (2000) To Bonferroni or not to Bonferroni: when and how are the questions. Bull Ecol Soc Am 81:246–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins BS, Battaglia LL (2002) Microenvironmental heterogeneity and Quercus michauxii regeneration in experimental gaps. For Ecol Manage 155:279–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Condit R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1993) Mortality and growth of a commercial hardwood "el cativo", Prioria copaifera, in Panama. For Ecol Manage 63:107–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Condit R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1996) Changes in tree species abundance in a Neotropical forest: impact of climate change. J Trop Ecol 12:231–256

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RMM, Braendle R (1996) Oxygen deprivation stress in a changing environment. J Exp Bot 47:145–159

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RMM, Walton JC, Wollenweber-Ratzer B (1994) Similarities between post-ischaemic injury to animal tissues and post-anoxic injury in plants. Proc R Soc Edinb 102B:325–332

    Google Scholar 

  • Croat TB (1978) Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, Calif.

  • D'Arcy WG (1987) Flora of Panama checklist. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Mo.

  • Davis TAW, Richards PW (1933) The vegetation of Morabilli Creek, British Guiana: an ecological study of a limited area of tropical rain forest. Part II. J Ecol 22:106–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Duivenvoorden JF (1996) Patterns of tree species richness in rain forest of middle Caquetá area, Colombia, NW Amazonia. Biotropica 28:142-158

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández AR, Laffarga JM, Ortega F (1993) Strategies in Mediterranean grassland annuals in relation to stress and disturbance. J Veg Sci 4:313–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira LV, Stohlgren TJ (1999) Effects of river level fluctuation on plant richness, diversity and distribution in a floodplain forest in Central Amazonia. Oecologia 120:582–587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golley FB, McGinnis JT, Clements RG, Child GI, Duever MJ (1975) Mineral cycling in a tropical moist forest ecosystem. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Ga.

  • Golluscio RA, Sala OE (1993) Plant functional types and ecological strategies in Patagonian forbs. J Veg Sci 6:99–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Grauel W, Kursar TA (1999) Species diversity and stand dynamics of Cativo (Prioria copaifera, Griseb.) forests in Darien province, Panama. In: Kleinn C, Kohl M (eds) Proceedings of the IUFRO S4.11 International Symposium: Long-term observations and research in forestry. CATIE, Costa Rica, pp 69–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Gravatt DA, Kirby CJ (1998) Patterns of photosynthesis and starch allocation in seedlings of four bottomland hardwood tree species subjected to flooding. Tree Physiol 18:411–417

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hart TB (1990) Monospecific dominance in tropical rain forest. Trends Ecol Evol 5:6-10

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartshorn GS (1972) The ecological life history and population dynamics of Pentaclethra macroloba a tropical wet forest dominant, and Stryphnodendron excelsum, an ocassional associate. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Washington

  • Hook DD, Langdon OG, Stubbs J, Brown CL (1970) Effect of water regimes on the survival, growth and morphology of tupelo seedlings. For Sci 16:304-311

    Google Scholar 

  • Janzen DH (1974) Tropical blackwater rivers, animals, and mast fruiting by the Dipterocarpaceae. Biotropica 6:69-103

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez JA (1994) Los manglares del Pacífico centroamericano. Editorial Fundación UNA, Heredia, Costa Rica

  • Joly CA, Crawford RMM (1982) Variation in tolerance and metabolic responses to flooding in some tropical trees. J Exp Bot 33:799-809

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ (1989) Flood tolerance and tree distribution in central Amazonian floodplains. In: Holm-Nielsen LB, Nielsen IC, Baslev H (eds) Tropical forests. Botanical dynamics, speciation and diversity. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif., pp 45-64

  • Kozlowski TT (1982) Water supply and tree growth. Part II. Flooding. For Abst 43:145–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozlowski TT (1984). Responses of woody plants to flooding. In: Kozlowski TT (ed) Flooding and plant growth. Academic Press, Orlando, Fla., pp 129-164

  • Kubitzki K (1989) The ecogeographical differentiation of Amazonian inundation forests. Plant Syst Evol 162:285–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Kubitzki K, Ziburski A (1994) Seed dispersal in floodplain forest of Amazonia. Biotropica 26:30–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Kursar TA (1989) Evaluation of soil respiration and soil CO2 concentration in a lowland moist forest in Panama. Plant Soil 113:21–29

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leigh EG Jr, Rand AS, Windsor DM (1996) The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal changes and long term changes, 2nd edn. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linares PR, Martínez H (1991) La regeneración natural temprana del bosque de Cativo en Chocó-Colombia. Corporación Nacional de Investigación y Fomento Forestal (CONIF), Bogotá, Colombia. Serie Técnica 30, pp 1–27

  • Lopez OR (2001) Seed flotation and post-flooding germination in tropical terra firme and seasonally flooded forest species. Funct Ecol 15:763–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez OR, Kursar TA (1999) Flood tolerance of four tropical tree species. Tree Physiol 19:925–932

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayo-Meléndez E (1965) Algunas características ecológicas de los bosques inundables del Darién, Panamá, con miras a su posible utilización. Turrialba 14:336–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuñez-Elisea R, Schaffer B, Fisher JB, Colls AM, Crane JH (1999) Influence of flooding on net CO2 assimilation, growth and stem anatomy of Annona species. Ann Bot 84:771–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parolin P (2000) Seed mass in Amazonian floodplain forests with contrasting nutrient supplies. J Trop Ecol 16:417–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parolin P (2001) Morphological and physiological adjustments to waterlogging and drought in seedlings of Amazonian floodplain trees. Oecologia 128:326–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patrick WH, Gambrell RP, Faulkner SP (1996) Redox measurements of soils. In: Methods in Soil Analysis Part III, Chemical Methods. Soil Science Society of America/American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis., pp1255–1273

  • Peters CM, Balick MJ, Kahn F, Anderson AB (1989) Oligarchic forest of economic plants in Amazonia: utilization and conservation of an important tropical resource. Conserv Biol 3:341–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Pezeshki SR (1993) Differences in patterns of photosynthetic responses to hypoxia in flood-tolerant and flood-sensitive tree species. Photosynthetica 28:423–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Pezeshki SR (1994) Plant responses to flooding. In: Wilkinson RE (ed) Plant environment interactions. Dekker, New York, pp 289–321

  • Richards PW (1996) The tropical rain forest: an ecological study, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rundel PW, Becker PF (1987) Cambios estacionales en las relaciones hídricas y en la fenología vegetativa de plantas del estrato bajo del bosque tropical de la Isla de Barro Colorado, Panamá. Rev Biol Trop 35:71–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Sena-Gomes AR, Kozlowski TT (1988) Physiological and growth responses to flooding of seedlings of Hevea brasiliensis. Biotropica 20:286–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry, 2nd edn. Freeman, New York

  • Sork VL (1985) Germination responses in a large-seeded Neotropical tree species, Gustavia superba (Lecythidaceae). Biotropica 17:130–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobin MF, Lopez OR, Kursar TA (1999) Responses of tropical understory plants to a severe drought: tolerance and avoidance of water stress. Biotropica 31:570–578

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree MT, Patiño S, Becker P (1998) Vulnerability to drought-induced embolism of Bornean heath and dipterocarp forest trees. Tree Physiol 18:583–588

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Welden CW, Hewett SW, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1991) Sapling survival, growth, and recruitment: relationship to canopy height in a neotropical forest. Ecology 72:35–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Windsor DM (1990) Climate and moisture variability in a tropical forest: long-term records from Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Smithson Contrib Earth Sci 29:1–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Worbes M, Klinge H, Revilla JD, Martius C (1992) On the dynamics, floristics subdivision and geographical distribution of várzea forests in Central Amazonia. J Veg Sci 3:553–564

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright SJ (1992) Seasonal drought, soil fertility and the species density of tropical forest plant communities. Trends Ecol Evol 7:260–263

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for its excellent logistical support at BCI, Panama. Lissy Coley, Krista Farris Lopez, Jeff Dukes, Rick Condit, David Mason, R.M.M Crawford and an anonymous reviewer provided valuable comments on the manuscript. Edmundo Ayarza, Dora Alvarez, Blexein Contreras, Delfin Jaramillo and Bill Grauel provided assistance in Darién and at BCI. This research was supported by a NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant (IBN-9902211 to O.L. and T.A.K.), a grant from the International Tropical Timber Organization to the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente of the Republic of Panama and a doctoral fellowship from the Panamanian National Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACYT).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Omar R. Lopez

    Present address: Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 430 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706-1381, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 S., 1400 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0840, USA

    Omar R. Lopez & Thomas A. Kursar

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Ancón, Panama

    Thomas A. Kursar

Authors
  1. Omar R. Lopez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas A. Kursar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Omar R. Lopez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lopez, O.R., Kursar, T.A. Does flood tolerance explain tree species distribution in tropical seasonally flooded habitats?. Oecologia 136, 193–204 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1259-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1259-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation