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Light acclimation of four native tree species in felling gaps within a tropical mountain rainforest

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Abstract

Ecuadorian mountain rainforests are declining dramatically due to deforestation. Exploitation of remaining forests has led to low abundances of native, valuable timber species. Enrichment planting of selected native tree species into forest gaps is a strategy that may increase their abundance and maintain biodiversity. However, the development of successful planting strategies requires knowledge of environmental demands on, and ecological requirements of, native species during their establishment. This knowledge is currently lacking for mid- and late-successional species in Central American forests. Two deciduous, mid-successional (Cedrela montana, Tabebuia chrysantha) and two evergreen, late-successional native tree species (Nectandra membranacea, Podocarpus sprucei) were planted into felling gaps. Photosynthetic performance and growth in height of these species were assessed along light gradients during seedling establishment to test whether species-specific light responses were related to plant successional traits. Both mid-successional species benefited from higher light levels in gaps up to 30% canopy openness60°. In larger gaps, C. montana exhibited a significant decline in growth. As expected, growth of the late-successional species was only marginally increased at higher light levels. Nevertheless, the photosynthetic apparatus of N. membranacea displayed rapid acclimation to higher light conditions in gaps. Plant response to felling gaps may not always be predicted based on successional status. Our results suggest that the four investigated species may coexist in the same gap by occupying different niches along light gradients. This arrangement may offer an ecological basis to increase the abundance of valuable timber species through enrichment planting in Ecuador mountain rainforests.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG), Kennedy Allee 40, 53175 Bonn. We thank Dominik Farnaday and Jonas Hönnebeck for help with the field work. Dr. Nancy Grulke is thanked for help with the English text. This study would not have been possible without the management of the planting activities by Nicolay Aguirre and the seedling cultivation in the tree nursery of the DFG at the Universidad National de Loja.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecophysiology of Plants, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 13, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Daniel Kuptz & Thorsten E. E. Grams

  2. Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Institute of Silviculture, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 13, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Daniel Kuptz & Sven Günter

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  1. Daniel Kuptz
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  2. Thorsten E. E. Grams
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  3. Sven Günter
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Correspondence to Thorsten E. E. Grams.

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Communicated by C. Lovelock.

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Kuptz, D., Grams, T.E.E. & Günter, S. Light acclimation of four native tree species in felling gaps within a tropical mountain rainforest. Trees 24, 117–127 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-009-0385-1

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