Increasing liana biomass and carbon stocks in tropical  dry evergreen forests of southern India

Snigdha  NATH; Kanda N.  BABU; Ashaq A. DAR; Narayanaswamy  PARTHASARATHY

doi:10.55779/nsb14311279

Authors

Snigdha NATH Pondicherry University, School of Life Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Puducherry, 605014; Mizoram University, Department of Environmental Science, Aizawl, Mizoram, 796004 (IN)
Kanda N. BABU Pondicherry University, School of Life Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Puducherry, 605014; French Institute of Pondicherry, Department of Ecology, St. Louis Street, Puducherry, 605001 (IN)
Ashaq A. DAR Pondicherry University, School of Life Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Puducherry, 605014 (IN)
Narayanaswamy PARTHASARATHY Pondicherry University, School of Life Sciences, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Puducherry, 605014 (IN)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55779/nsb14311279

Keywords:

basal area, carbon stock, forest dynamics, long-term monitoring, woody climbers

Abstract

Tropical forests act as a great carbon reservoir covering about 30% of the global carbon content, however, structural alteration of these forests caused by forest disturbances adversely affects the carbon cycle. One such structural change happening in these tropical forests is the increasing dominance of lianas (woody climbers). Among various tropical forest types, lianas are an integral constituent of the tropical dry evergreen forests (TDEFs) found in peninsular India. A re-inventory of lianas was carried out to observe temporal changes in basal area and carbon stock in two 1-ha permanent plots of two disturbed tropical dry evergreen forest sites (TDEF; Oorani -OR and Puthupet - PP) over a 19-year interval (2001-2020). The total basal area in OR and PP increased respectively by 2.26 m² ha^-1 and 0.93 m² ha^-1. The total biomass and the carbon stock in OR and PP increased by 82% and 51% respectively. The dominant species Strychnos lenticellata showed an increase in its basal area by three-fold in OR, whereas, in PP, a marginal increase of 4% was observed. The lower diameter class (1-6 cm) showed an increase in basal area in OR and PP by 101% and 16% respectively. The mid-diameter class (6-11 cm) was the top contributor of the total biomass/carbon in both OR and PP in the latest re-inventory (2020). The present results show that lianas, although known to negatively affect the forest biomass/carbon stock, play an important role in carbon sequestration, thus providing insights into their ecological importance which will certainly be useful in proposing strategies for the conservation of this forest type dominated by lianas.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Addo-Fordjour P, Rahmad ZB (2015). Liana community assemblages in relation to human disturbance in a tropical forest in Ghana: implications for conservation. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services and Management 11(4):286-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2015.1041159

Babu KN, Parthasarathy N (2019). Assessment of liana diversity and carbon stock in differently disturbed tropical dry evergreen forests of southern India. Tropical Plant Research 6(1):74-89. https://doi.org/10.22271/tpr.2019.v6.i1.012

Cairns MA, Brown S, Helmer EH, Baumgardner GA (1997). Root biomass allocation in the world’s upland forests. Oecologia 111:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050201

Champion HG, Seth SK (1968). Revised survey of the forest types of India. Manager of Publications, New Delhi, India pp 404.

Chave J, Olivier J, Bongers F, Châtelet P, Forget PM, Van Der Meer P, … Charles-Dominique P (2008). Aboveground biomass and productivity in a rain forest of eastern South America. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24(4):355-366. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005075

Chen YJ, Bongers F, Cao KF, Cai ZQ (2008). Above-and below-ground competition in high and low irradiance: tree seedling responses to a competing liana Byttneria grandifolia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:517-524. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005233

Coley PD (1988). Effects of plant growth rate and leaf lifetime on the amount and type of anti-herbivore defense. Oecologia 74(4):531-536. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380050

Cornelissen JHC, Lavorel S, Garnier E, Díaz S, Buchmann N, Gurvich DE, … Pausas JG (2003). A handbook of protocols for standardised and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Australian journal of Botany 51(4):335-380. https://doi.org/10.1071/BT02124

de Souza BC, Carvalho ECD, Oliveira RS, de Araujo FS, de Lima ALA, Rodal, MJN (2020). Drought response strategies of deciduous and evergreen woody species in a seasonally dry neotropical forest. Oecologia 194(1):221-236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04760-3

Dewalt S, Chave J (2004). Structure and biomass of four lowland Neotropical forests. Biotropica 36:7-19.

Dewalt SJ, Schnitzer SA, Alves LF, Bongers F, Burnham RJ, Cai Z, … Ewango CE (2015). Biogeographical patterns of liana abundance and diversity. In: Schnitzer SA, Bongers F, Burnham RJ, Putz FE (Eds). Ecology of Lianas. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 131-146.

Durán SM, Gianoli E (2013). Carbon stocks in tropical forests decrease with liana density. Biology Letters 9:20130301. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0301

Durán SM, Sánchez-Azofeifa GA (2015). Liana effects on carbon storage and uptake in mature and secondary tropical forests. In: Biodiversity of Lianas. Springer, Cham pp 43-55.

Gerwing JJ, Schnitzer SA, Burnham RJ, Bongers F, Chave J, Dewalt SJ, … Parren M (2006). A standard protocol for liana censuses 1. Biotropica: The Journal of Biology and Conservation 38(2):256-261. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00134.x

Givnish TJ (2002). Ecological constraints on the evolution of plasticity in plants. Evolutionary Ecology 16(3):213-242. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019676410041

Hegarty EE, Caballe G (1992). Distribution and abundance of vines in forest communities. In: Putz FE, Mooney H (Eds). The Biology of Vines. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge pp 313-336.

IPCC (2005). Special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage. Prepared by working group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Khadanga SS, Muthumperumal C, Parthasarathy N (2015). Changes in liana diversity over decade in Indian tropical dry evergreen forests. In: Tripathi SK (Ed). Biodiversity in Tropical Ecosystems. Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi pp 61-79.

Kröber W, Heklau H, Bruelheide H (2015). Leaf morphology of 40 evergreen and deciduous broadleaved subtropical tree species and relationships to functional ecophysiological traits. Plant Biology 17(2):373-383. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12250

Laurance W, Andrade A, Magrach A (2014). Long-term changes in liana abundance and forest dynamics in undisturbed Amazonian forests. Ecology 95:1604-1611. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1571.1

Lewis SL, Lloyd J, Sitch S, Mitchard ET, Laurance WF (2009). Changing ecology of tropical forests: evidence and drivers. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 40:529-549. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173345

Malhi Y (2012). The productivity, metabolism and carbon cycle of tropical forest vegetation. Journal of Ecology 100(1):65-75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01916.x

Meunier F, Verbeeck H, Cowdery B, Schnitzer SA, Smith‐Martin CM, Powers JS, … Bonal D (2021). Unraveling the relative role of light and water competition between lianas and trees in tropical forests: A vegetation model analysis. Journal of Ecology 109(1):519-540. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13540

Nath S, Babu KN, Dilshad K, Dar AA, Parthasarathy N (2022). Impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the liana diversity and need for conservation of resource valued species-evidences from Indian tropical dry evergreen forests. Taiwania 67(1):129-139. https://doi.org/10.6165/tai.2022.67.129

Pandian E, Parthasarathy N (2016). Decadal (2003–2013) changes in liana diversity, abundance and aboveground biomass in four inland tropical dry evergreen forest sites of peninsular India. Journal of Forestry Research 27(1):133-146.

Parthasarathy N, Selwyn MA, Udayakumar M (2008). Tropical dry evergreen forests of peninsular India: ecology and conservation significance. Tropical Conservation Science 1(2):89-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/194008290800100203

Parthasarathy N, Vivek P, Anil K (2015a). Liana diversity and their ecosystem services in tropical dry evergreen forest on the Coromandel Coast of India. In: Biodiversity of Lianas. Springer, Cham pp 161-178.

Parthasarathy N, Vivek P, Anil K (2015b). Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation of Tropical dry Evergreen Forest. Lambert Academic Publishing, GmbH and Co. Germany.

Pérez-Salicrup DR, Barker MG (2000). Effect of liana cutting on water potential and growth of adult Senna multijuga (Caesalpinioideae) trees in a Bolivian tropical forest. Oecologia 124:469-475. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00008872

Phillips OL, Martínez RV, Arroyo L, Baker TR, Killeen T, Lewis SL, … Alexiades M (2002). Increasing dominance of large lianas in Amazonian forests. Nature 418(6899):770-774. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00926

Putz FE (1984). The natural history of Lianas on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Ecology 65(6):1713-1724. https://doi.org/10.2307/1937767

R Core Team (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R foundation for statistical computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/

Reddy MS, Parthasarathy N (2003). Liana diversity and distribution in four tropical dry evergreen forests on the Coromandel coast of south India. Biodiversity and Conservation 12(8):1609-1627. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023620901624

Reddy MS, Parthasarathy N (2006). Liana diversity and distribution on host trees in four inland tropical dry evergreen forests of peninsular India. Tropical Ecology 47:103-116.

Schnitzer SA (2005). A mechanistic explanation for global patterns of liana abundance and distribution. The American Naturalist 166:262-276. https://doi.org/10.1086/431250

Schnitzer SA, Bongers F (2002). The ecology of lianas and their role in forests. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 17(5):223-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02491-6

Schnitzer SA, Bongers F (2011). Increasing liana abundance and biomass in tropical forests: emerging patterns and putative mechanisms. Ecology Letters 14(4):397-406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01590.x

Schnitzer SA, Carson WP (2010). Lianas suppress tree regeneration and diversity in treefall gaps. Ecology Letters 13:849-857. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01480.x

Schnitzer SA, Dewalt SJ, Chave J (2006). Censusing and measuring lianas: a quantitative comparison of the common methods. Biotropica 38:58-591. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00187.x

Schnitzer SA, Van Der Heijden GMF, Mascaro J, Carson WP (2014). Lianas in gaps reduce carbon accumulation in a tropical forest. Ecology 95(11):3008-3017.

Stevens GC (1987). Lianas as structural parasites: the Bursera simaruba example. Ecology 68:77-81. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938806

Van Der Heijden GMF, Phillips OL (2008). What controls liana success in Neotropical forests? Global Ecology and Biogeography 17:372-383. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00376.x

Van Der Heijden GMF, Phillips OL (2009). Liana infestation impacts tree growth in a lowland tropical moist forest. Biogeosciences 6:2217-2226. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-2217-2009

Veblen TT, Kitzberger T, Lara A (1992). Disturbance and forest dynamics along a transect from Andean rain forest to Patagonian shrubland. Journal of Vegetation Science 3(4):507-520. https://doi.org/10.2307/3235807

Villagra M, Trentini CP, Di Francescantonio D, Eleuterio AA, Foletto F, Montti LF, Campanello PI (2021). Disturbance as a driver of trait assembly in liana communities in a semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest. Plant Ecology 222(7):773-790. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01142-4

Vivek P, Parthasarathy N (2015). Diversity and carbon stock assessment of trees and lianas in tropical dry evergreen forest on the Coromandel Coast of India. Tropical Plant Research 2(3):230-239.

Vivek P, Parthasarathy N (2018). Contrasting leaf-trait strategies in dominant liana and tree species of Indian tropical dry evergreen forest. Flora 249:143-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2018.11.002