Revisiting the hypothesis for increasing liana abundance in seasonal forests: a theoretical review

Background A decade ago, to address the question, “Why are lianas most abundant in seasonal tropical forests across the globe?”, the Mechanistic Explanation of Liana Global Abundance (MELGA) relied on the assumption that lianas have deeper roots than trees and are able to tap water from relatively d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2018-09, Vol.430 (1/2), p.1-6
Main Authors: de Azevedo Amorim, Thiago, Nunes-Freitas, André Felippe, Rosado, Bruno H. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climbing plants
Community structure
Drinking water
Drought
Ecology
Environmental aspects
Forests
Hypotheses
Lianas
Life Sciences
Plant communities
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Rain forests
REVIEW ARTICLE
Roots
Soil layers
Soil Science & Conservation
Soil water
Storage capacity
Success
Tropical forests
Water storage
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Summary:Background A decade ago, to address the question, “Why are lianas most abundant in seasonal tropical forests across the globe?”, the Mechanistic Explanation of Liana Global Abundance (MELGA) relied on the assumption that lianas have deeper roots than trees and are able to tap water from relatively deeper soil layers, giving them a competitive advantage during drought. Scope We assess whether the assumption that lianas have deep roots is corroborated by the literature. We accessed the initial MELGA paper and evaluated all papers citing it. To date, we found that two papers tested the MELGA, and only one corroborated it. Conclusions Deeper roots in lianas are not the single mechanism explaining liana success, due to limited empirical support. Instead, we propose that while liana success in seasonal forests may relate to deep roots for some species, it should not be viewed as the exclusive result of a single trait but as the possible result of multiple traits such as hydraulic redistribution, multifocal growing, drought resilience, higher water storage capacity, and acquisitive resource syndrome. Additional hypotheses should be evaluated along with predicted changes in plant community structure. These hypotheses should stimulate research on the mechanisms driving liana success in tropical forests.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-018-3730-6