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Changes in tree and liana communities along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-eastern Brazil

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Abstract

We investigated changes in species composition and structure of tree and liana communities along a successional gradient in a seasonally dry tropical forest. There was a progressive increase in tree richness and all tree structural traits from early to late stages, as well as marked changes in tree species composition and dominance. This pattern is probably related to pasture management practices such as ploughing, which remove tree roots and preclude regeneration by resprouting. On the other hand, liana density decreased from intermediate to late stages, showing a negative correlation with tree density. The higher liana abundance in intermediate stage is probably due to a balanced availability of support and light availability, since these variables may show opposite trends during forest growth. Predicted succession models may represent extremes in a continuum of possible successional pathways strongly influenced by land use history, climate, soil type, and by the outcomes of tree–liana interactions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Anna Paola Biadi Bicalho, Elton Bordoni, Rodrigo Braga Nunes, Hisaías Almeida, Mariana Rodrigues Santos, Diego Oliveira Brandão and Gládson Borges for their help during field work. We thank all the staff of the Instituto Estadual de Florestas (IEF) for allowing us to stay and work at the PEMS, and for logistical support. We specially thank José Luís Vieira (IEF) for his invaluable field assistance. We are also very grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their comments on the early versions of this manuscript. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) CRN II # 021, which is supported by the US National Science Foundation (Grant GEO 0452325), and from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG CRA 2288/07). Logistical support by the University of Alberta is also acknowledged. Geraldo Wilson Fernandes acknowledges a grant provided by CNPq (304851/2004-3). Bruno Gini Madeira greatly acknowledges a scholarship from CNPq (140250/2004-2). This study was in partial fulfilment for the PhD requirements of Bruno Gini Madeira.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil

    Bruno G. Madeira, Mário M. Espírito-Santo, Santos D’Ângelo Neto & Yule R. F. Nunes

  2. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    Bruno G. Madeira

  3. Earth Observation Systems Laboratory (EOSL), Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, T6G 2E3, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    G. Arturo Sánchez Azofeifa

  4. Ecologia Evolutiva e Biodiversidade/DBG, ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 486, 30161 970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    G. Wilson Fernandes

  5. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 27-3 (Xangari), 58089, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Mauricio Quesada

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  1. Bruno G. Madeira
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  3. Santos D’Ângelo Neto
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Correspondence to Mário M. Espírito-Santo.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 List of tree species (DBH ≥ 5 cm) identified in the 20 plots in three successional stages in the dry forest of the Parque Estadual da Mata Seca, MG
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Madeira, B.G., Espírito-Santo, M.M., Neto, S.D. et al. Changes in tree and liana communities along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-eastern Brazil. Plant Ecol 201, 291–304 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-009-9580-9

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