Abstract
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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrade JL, Meinzer FC, Goldstein G, Schnitzer SA (2005) Water uptake and transport in lianas and co-occurring trees of a seasonally dry tropical forest. Trees 19:282–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-004-0388-x
Asner GP, Martin RE (2012) Contrasting leaf chemical traits in tropical lianas and trees: implications for future forest composition. Ecol Lett 15:1001–1007
Bauerle TL, Richards JH, Smart DR, Eissenstat DM (2008) Importance of internal hydraulic redistribution for prolonging the lifespan of roots in dry soil. Plant Cell Environ 31:177–186. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2007.01749.x
Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC, Ong CK (1998) The redistribution of soil water by tree root systems. Oecologia 115:306–311
Carvalho ECD, Martins FR, Oliveira RS, Soares AA, Araújo FS (2016) Why is liana abundance low in semiarid climates? Austral Ecol 41:559–571. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12345
Chen YJ, Cao KF, Schnitzer SA, Fan ZX, Zhang JL, Bongers F (2015) Water-use advantage for lianas over trees in tropical seasonal forests. New Phytol 205:128–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13036
Chen Y-J, Schnitzer SA, Zhang Y-J, Fan ZX, Goldstein G, Tomlinson KW, Lin H, Zhang JL, Cao KF (2017) Physiological regulation and efficient xylem water transport regulate diurnal water and carbon balances of tropical lianas. Funct Ecol 31:306–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12724
De Deurwaerder H, Hervé-Fernández P, Stahl C, et al (2018) Liana and tree below-ground water competition—evidence for water resource partitioning during the dry season. Tree Physiol 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpy002
De Guzman ME, Santiago LS, Schnitzer SA, Álvarez-Cansino L (2016) Trade-offs between water transport capacity and drought resistance in neotropical canopy liana and tree species. Tree Physiol. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpw086
Donovan LA, Linton MJ, Richards JH (2001) Predawn plant water potential does not necessarily equilibrate with soil water potential under well-watered conditions. Oecologia 129:328–335
Eller CB, Lima AL, Oliveira RS (2013) Foliar uptake of fog water and transport belowground alleviates drought effects in the cloud forest tree species, Drimys brasiliensis (Winteraceae). New Phytol 199:151–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12248
Ewers FW, Rosell JA, Olson ME (2015) Lianas as structural parasites. In: Hacke UG (ed) Functional and ecological xylem anatomy. Springer, New York, p 281
Fauset S, Baker TR, Lewis SL, Feldpausch TR, Affum-Baffoe K, Foli EG, Hamer KC, Swaine MD (2012) Drought-induced shifts in the floristic and functional composition of tropical forests in Ghana. Ecol Lett 15:1120–1129. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01834.x
Fu P, Liu W, Fan Z, Cao K (2016) Is fog an important water source for woody plants in an Asian tropical karst forest during the dry season? 972:964–972. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1694
Gao W, Hodgkinson L, Jin K, Watts CW, Ashton RW, Shen J, Ren T, Dodd IC, Binley A, Phillips AL, Hedden P, Hawkesford MJ, Whalley WR (2016) Deep roots and soil structure. Plant Cell Environ 39:1662–1668. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12684
Marks CO (2007) The causes of variation in tree seedligns traits: the roles of environmental selection versus chance. Evolution (N Y) 61:455–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-4658.2007.00021.x
Marks CO, Lechowicz MJ (2006) Alternative designs and the evolution of functional diversity. Am Nat 167:55–66
Martínez-Izquierdo L, García MM, Powers JS, Schnitzer SA (2016) Lianas suppress seedling growth and survival of 14 tree species in a Panamanian tropical forest. Ecology 97:215–224. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-2261.1
Marvin DC, Winter K, Burnham RJ, Schnitzer SA (2015) No evidence that elevated CO2 gives tropical lianas an advantage over tropical trees. Glob Chang Biol 21:2055–2069. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12820
Moreira MZ, Sternberg LSL, Nepstad DC (2000) Vertical patterns of soil water uptake by plants in a primary forest and an abandoned pasture in the eastern Amazon: an isotopic approach. Plant Soil 222:95–107
Morris H, Plavcová L, Cvecko P, Fichtler E, Gillingham MAF, Martínez-Cabrera HI, McGlinn DJ, Wheeler E, Zheng J, Ziemińska K, Jansen S (2016) A global analysis of parenchyma tissue fractions in secondary xylem of seed plants. New Phytol 209:1553–1565. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13737
Nepstad DC, Tohver IM, Ray D, Moutinho P, Cardinot G (2007) Mortality of large trees and lianas following experimental drought in an Amazon forest. Ecology 88:2259–2269. https://doi.org/10.1890/06-1046.1
Neumann RB, Cardon ZG (2012) The magnitude of hydraulic redistribution by plant roots: a review and synthesis of empirical and modeling studies. New Phytol 194:337–352. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04088.x
Ogasa M, Miki NH, Murakami Y, Yoshikawa K (2013) Recovery performance in xylem hydraulic conductivity is correlated with cavitation resistance for temperate deciduous tree species. Tree Physiol 33:335–344. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpt010
Paz H, Pineda-García F, Pinzón-Pérez LF (2015) Root depth and morphology in response to soil drought: comparing ecological groups along the secondary succession in a tropical dry forest. Oecologia 179:551–561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3359-6
Pierret A, Maeght J-L, Clément C, Montoroi JP, Hartmann C, Gonkhamdee S (2016) Understanding deep roots and their functions in ecosystems: an advocacy for more unconventional research. Ann Bot 118:621–635. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcw130
Pivovaroff AL, Pasquini SC, De Guzman ME et al (2016) Multiple strategies for drought survival among woody plant species. Funct Ecol 30:517–526. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12518
Powers JS (2014) Reciprocal interactions between lianas and forest soil. In: Schnitzer SA, Bongers F, Burnham RJ, Putz FE (eds) Ecology of lianas. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp 175–187
Putz FE (1984) The Natural History of Lianas on Barro Colorado Island. Ecology 65:1713–1724
Restom TG, Nepstad DC (2004) Seedling growth dynamics of a deeply rooting liana in a secondary forest in eastern Amazonia. For Ecol Manag 190:109–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2003.10.010
Rosado BHP, de Mattos EA (2017) On the relative importance of CSR ecological strategies and integrative traits to explain species dominance at local scales. Funct Ecol 31:1969–1974. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12894
Rosado BHP, Figueiredo MSL, de Mattos EA, Grelle CEV (2016) Eltonian shortfall due to the Grinnellian view: functional ecology between the mismatch of niche concepts. Ecography (Cop) 39:1034–1041. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.01678
Sakai A, Nomiya H, Suzuki W (2002) Horizontal distribution of stolons of a temperate liana Wisteria floribunda DC. and its ecological significance. J For Res 7:125–130
Santiago LS, Pasquini SC, De Guzman ME (2014) Physiological implications of the liana growth form. In: Schnitzer SA, Bongers F, Burnham RJ, Putz FE (eds) Ecology of lianas. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp 288–298
Schnitzer S (2005) A mechanistic explanation for global patterns of Liana abundance and distribution. Am Nat 166:262–276. https://doi.org/10.1086/431250
Schnitzer SA, Kuzee ME, Bongers F (2005) Disentangling above- and below-ground competition between lianas and trees in a tropical forest. J Ecol 93:1115–1125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01056.x
Schnitzer SA, Rutishauser S, Aguilar S (2008) Supplemental protocol for liana censuses. For Ecol Manag 255:1044–1049
Shipley B, Bello F, Cornelissen JHC et al (2016) Reinforcing loose foundation stones in trait-based plant ecology. Oecologia 180:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3549-x
Tang Y, Kitching RL, Cao M (2012) Lianas as structural parasites: a re-evaluation. Chinese Sci Bull 57:307–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4690-x
Van Der Heijden GMFF, Phillips OL (2008) What controls liana success in Neotropical forests? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 17:372–383. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00376.x
Wright JP, Sutton-Grier A (2012) Does the leaf economic spectrum hold within local species pools across varying environmental conditions? Funct Ecol 26:1390–1398. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12001
Wright IJ, Reich P, Westoby M et al (2004) The world wide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827
Acknowledgements
We thank an anonymous reviewer and R. J. Burnham for great comments and suggestions. TAA was supported by CAPES (88881.135051/2016-01) and BHPR by grants from FAPERJ (E-26/110.985/2013 and E-26/111.208/2014) and the Prociencia Scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Alexia Stokes.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(XLSX 47.2 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Azevedo Amorim, T., Nunes-Freitas, A.F. & Rosado, B.H.P. Revisiting the hypothesis for increasing liana abundance in seasonal forests: a theoretical review. Plant Soil 430, 1–6 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3730-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3730-6