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Bole epiphytic bryophytes on Lithocarpus xylocarpus (Kurz) Markgr. in the Ailao Mountains, SW China

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Epiphytic bryophytes growing on Lithocarpus xylocarpus (Kurz) Markgr. trunks of different diameter classes in primary (132 plots) and secondary (84 plots) Lithocarpus forests in the Ailao Mountains, SW China, were surveyed and analyzed to determine species composition and richness, and to identify environmental variables that may affect it. Among the 65 species (belonging to 32 genera, 19 families) found, 28 occurred in both forests, with Syrrhopodon gardneri (Hook.) Schwaegr. predominanting. Species richness and total coverage in primary forest were significantly higher than in secondary forest. We suggest that a period of perhaps much more than 110 years is necessary for the recovery of epiphytic bryoflora in montane forest of SW China. Fan, turf, and smooth mat are the most important life forms, with high occurrences in both forests. The life form composition of epiphytic bryophytes is determined mainly by microhabitat and host age. Tree age, the presence of primary forest, bark pH, and plot exposure are the environmental variables that have significantly influenced the composition of epiphytic bryophytes. Tree age explained most variations in epiphytic bryoflora. Bark pH is another important parameter that significantly influenced the epiphytic bryophyte community, but seemed indirectly correlated with tree age. Primary forest is a favorable habitat for epiphytes, due mainly to its diversified canopy structure and the presence of large diameter hosts. Moisture-laden southwest trade winds and forest structure could differentiate microclimate and impel a distinct composition of epiphytes in windward and leeward exposures.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30771705, No. 30870437) and Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Science (No. KSCX2-YW-Z-1019). The Management Authority of Ailao Mts. NNR and the Ecological Station of Ailao Mts. are thanked for granting permission and facilitating this research. We wish to thank Mr. Jin-Hua Qi and Ping Xie for offering assistance during the field survey. We are also grateful to Dr. Nabil Ibrahim el Sheery, Xiao-Shuang Li, and Yong-Jiang Zhang for their suggestions and corrections on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Xuefu Road, Kunming, 650223, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China

    Liang Song, Wen-yao Liu & Zheng-hong Tan

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Liang Song & Zheng-hong Tan

  3. School of Environmental Biology, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Wen-yao Liu

  4. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Heilongtan, Kunming, 650204, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China

    Wen-zhang Ma

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  1. Liang Song
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  2. Wen-yao Liu
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Correspondence to Wen-yao Liu.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 3.

Table 3 Epiphytic bryophytes found in the primary Lithocarpus forest (PLF) and secondary Lithocarpus forest (SLF), with numbers of important value in each forest
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Song, L., Liu, Wy., Ma, Wz. et al. Bole epiphytic bryophytes on Lithocarpus xylocarpus (Kurz) Markgr. in the Ailao Mountains, SW China. Ecol Res 26, 351–363 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-010-0790-3

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