Tree diversity, forest structure and productivity along altitudinal and topographical gradients in a species-rich Ecuadorian montane rain forest

Biotropica

Volumn 42, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 140-148

  Homeier, Jürgen ^a   Breckle, Siegmar W ^b   Günter, Sven ^c   Rollenbeck, Rütger T ^d   Leuschner, Christoph ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN   (Germany)

^b BIELEFELD UNIVERSITY   (Germany)

^c TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH   (Germany)

^d PHILIPPS UNIVERSITY MARBURG   (Germany)

Author keywords

Diversity productivity relationship; Ecuador; Neotropical montane forest; Soil nutrients; Spatial heterogeneity; Tree species richness; Tropical tree growth

Indexed keywords

BASAL AREA; BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION; ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENT; HUMID ENVIRONMENT; LEAF AREA INDEX; MONTANE FOREST; POPULATION DISTRIBUTION; RAINFOREST; SOIL NUTRIENT; SPATIAL VARIATION; SPECIES DIVERSITY; SPECIES RICHNESS; STAND STRUCTURE;

ECUADOR;

EID: 77951195579     PISSN: 00063606     EISSN: 17447429     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00547.x     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Aiba S, Kitayama K. Structure, composition and species diversity in an altitude-substrate matrix of rain forest tree communities on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Plant Ecol. 1999, 140:139-157.
2. Aiba S, Takyu M, Kitayama K. Dynamics, productivity and species richness of tropical rain forests along elevational and edaphic gradients on Mount Kinabalu. Borneo. Ecol. Res. 2005, 20:279-286.
3. Ashton P S. Species richness in tropical forests. Tropical forests: botanical dynamics, speciation and diversity 1989, 241-251. Holm-Nielsen L BNielsen I CBalslev H. (Eds.), pp, Academic Press INC, London, UK
4. Balslev H, Øllgaard B. Mapa de vegetación del sur de Ecuador. Botánica Austroecuatoriana. Estudios sobre los recursos vegetales en las provincias de El Oro, Loja y Zamora-Chinchipe 2002, 51-64. Aguirre M Z, Madsen J ECotton EBalslev H. (Eds.), pp, Ediciones Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador
5. Balvanera P, Aguirre E. Tree diversity, environmental heterogeneity, and productivity in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Biotropica 2006, 38:479-491.
6. Bellingham P J, Tanner E V J. The influence of topography on tree growth, mortality, and recruitment in a tropical montane forest. Biotropica 2000, 32:378-384.
7. Bendix J, Rollenbeck R, Richter M, Fabian P, Emck P. Climate. Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological studies 2008, Vol. 198:63-73. Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R. (Eds.), pp, Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany
8. Breckle S-W, Breckle U, Homeier J, Scheffer A. Mineral deficiences in a pine plantation in Southern Ecuador. Ecotropica 2005, 11:79-85.
9. Brehm G, Pitkin L M, Hilt N, Fiedler K. Montane Andean rain forests are a global diversity hotspot of geometrid moths. J. Biogeogr. 2005, 32:1621-1627.
10. Bruijnzeel L A, Proctor J. Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane cloud forests. What do we really know? Tropical montane cloud forests. Ecological studies 1995, Vol. 110:38-78. Hamilton L S, Juvik J OScatena F N. (Eds.), pp, Springer Verlag, New York, New York
11. Brummit N, Nic Lughadha E. Biodiversity. Where's hot and where's not. Conserv. Biol. 2003, 17:1442-1448.
12. Burslem D F R P, Whitmore T C. Species diversity, susceptibility to disturbance and tree population dynamics in tropical rain forests. J. Veg. Sci. 1999, 10:767-776.
13. Cavelier J. Environmental factors and ecophysiological processes along altitudinal gradients in wet tropical mountains. Tropical forest plant ecophysiology 1996, 399-439. Mulkey S SChazdon R LSmith A P. (Eds.), pp, Chapman and Hall, New York, New York
14. Clark D B, Brown S, Kicklighter D W, Chambers J Q, Thomlinson J R, Ni J. Measuring net primary production in forests: Concepts and field methods. Ecol. Appl. 2001a, 11:356-370.
15. Clark D B, Brown S, Kicklighter D W, Chambers J Q, Thomlinson J R, Ni J, Holland E A. Net primary production in tropical forests: An evaluation and synthesis of existing field data. Ecol. Appl. 2001b, 11:371-384.
16. Colwell R K. 2008, http://purl.oclc.org/estimates, EstimateS: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 8.0.0. User's guide and application. Available at
17. Doumenge C, Gilmour D, Ruíz Pérez M, Blockhus J. Tropical montane cloud forests. Conservation status and management issues. Tropical montane cloud forests. Ecological Studies 1995, Vol. 110:24-37. Hamilton L S, Juvik J O, Scatena F N, (Eds.), pp, Springer Verlag, New York, New York
18. Felfili J M. Growth, recruitment and mortality in the Gama gallery forest in central Brazil over a six-year period (1985-1991). J. Trop. Ecol. 1995, 11:67-83.
19. Frazer G W, Canham C D, Lertzman K P. 1999, Gap Light Analyzer (GLA), Version 2.0: Imaging software to extract canopy structure and gap light transmission indices from true-colour fisheye photographs, users manual and program documentation. Copyright © 1999: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York
20. Gentry A H. Changes in plant community diversity and floristic composition on environmental and geographical gradients. Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden 1988, 75:1-34.
21. Gentry A H. Patterns of diversity and floristic composition in neotropical montane forests. Biodiversity and conservation of neotropical montane forests 1995, 103-126. Churchill S PBalslev HForero ELuteyn J L. (Eds.), pp, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York
22. Gillman G N, Wright S D. The influence of productivity on the species richness of plants: A critical assessment. Ecology 2006, 87:1234-1243.
23. Givnish T J. On the causes of gradients in tropical tree diversity. J. Ecol. 1999, 87:193-210.
24. Gotelli N J, Colwell R K. Quantifying biodiversity: Procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecol. Lett. 2001, 4:379-391.
25. Graefe S, Hertel D, Leuschner C. Estimating fine root turnover in tropical forests along an elevational transect using minirhizotrons. Biotropica 2008, 40:536-542.
26. Grubb P J. Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains, with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1977, 8:83-107.
27. Hamilton L S. Mountain cloud forest conservation and research. A synopsis. Mount. Res. Dev. 1995, 15:259-266.
28. Henderson A, Churchill S P, Luteyn J L. Neotropical plant diversity. Nature 1991, 351:21-22.
29. Homeier J. 2004, Baumdiversität, Waldstruktur und Wachstumsdynamik zweier tropischer Bergregenwälder in Ecuador und Costa Rica, PhD Dissertation, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
30. Homeier J. The influence of topography on forest structure and regeneration dynamics in an Ecuadorian montane forest. The tropical mountain forest - Patterns and processes in a biodiversity hotspot. Biodiversity and ecology series 2008, Vol. 2:97-107. Gradstein S RHomeier JGansert D. (Eds.), pp
31. Homeier J, Werner F A. Spermatophyta. Checklist Reserva Biológica San Francisco (Prov. Zamora-Chinchipe, S-Ecuador). Provisional checklists of flora and fauna of the San Francisco valley and its surroundings (Estación Científica San Francisco), Southern Ecuador. Ecotropical Monographs 2007, Vol. 4:15-58. Liede-Schumann S, Breckle S-W. (Eds.), pp
32. Homeier J, Werner F A, Gradstein S R, Breckle S-W, Richter M. Potential vegetation and floristic composition of Andean forests in South Ecuador, with a focus on the RBSF. Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological studies 2008, Vol. 198:87-100. Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R. (Eds.), pp, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany
33. Huston M. Soil nutrients and tree species richness in Costa Rican forests. J. Biogeogr. 1980, 7:147-157.
34. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador 1999, Jørgensen P MLeón-Yánez S. (Eds.), Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri
35. Kessler M. The elevational gradient of Andean plant endemism: Varying influences of taxon-specific traits and topography at different taxonomic levels. J. Biogeogr. 2002, 29:1159-1165.
36. Kitayama K, Aiba S-I. Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. J. Ecol. 2002, 90:37-51.
37. Lehnert M, Kessler M, Salazar L I, Navarrete H, Gradstein S R. Pteridophytes. Checklist Reserva Biológica San Francisco (Prov. Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador). Provisional checklists of flora and fauna of the San Francisco valley and its surroundings (Estación Científica San Francisco), Southern Ecuador. Ecotropical Monographs 2007, Vol. 4:59-68. Liede-Schumann S, Breckle S-W, (Eds.), pp
38. Leuschner C, Moser G, Bertsch C, Röderstein M, Hertel D. Large altitudinal increase in tree root/shoot ratio in tropical mountain forests of Ecuador. Basic Appl. Ecol. 2007, 8:219-230.
39. Lieberman D, Lieberman M, Peralta R, Hartshorn G S. Tropical forest structure and composition on a large-scale altitudinal gradient in Costa Rica. J. Ecol. 1996, 84:137-152.
40. Madsen J E, Øllgaard B. Floristic composition, structure, and dynamics of an upper montane forest in Southern Ecuador. Nord. J. Bot. 1994, 14:403-423.
41. Malhi Y, Baker T R, Phillips O L, Almeida S, Alvarez E, Arroyo L, Chave J, Czimczik C I, Di Fiore A, Higuchi N, Killeen T J, Laurance S G, Laurance W F, Lewis S L, Mercado M L M, Monteagudo A, Neill D A, Nunez V P, Patino S, Pitman N C A, Quesada C A, Salomao R, Silva J N M, Torres L A, Vasquez M R, Terborgh J, Vinceti B, Lloyd J. The above-ground coarse wood productivity of 104 Neotropical forest plots. Global Change Biol. 2004, 10:563-591.
42. Paoli G D, Curran L M. Soil nutrients limit fine litter production and tree growth in mature lowland forest of Southwestern Borneo. Ecosystems 2007, 10:503-518.
43. Parolly G, Kürschner H. Ecosociological studies in Ecuadorian bryophyte communities. II. Syntaxonomy of the submontane and montane epiphytic vegetation of S Ecuador. Nova Hedwigia 2004, 79:377-424.
44. Parolly G, Kürschner H, Schäfer-Verwimp A, Gradstein S R. Cryptogams of the Reserva Biológica San Francisco (Province Zamora-Chinchipe, Southern Ecuador) III. Bryophytes - Additions and new species. Cryptogamie, Bryol. 2004, 25:271-289.
45. Paulsch A. 2002, Development and application of a classification system for undisturbed and disturbed tropical montane forests based on vegetation structure. PhD Dissertation, University of Bayreuth, Germany
46. Pereira J A A, Oliveira-Filho A T, Lemos-Filho J P. Environmental heterogeneity and disturbance by humans control much of the tree species diversity of Atlantic montane forest fragments in SE Brazil. Biodiv. Conserv. 2007, 16:1761-1784.
47. Phillips O L, Hall P, Gentry A H, Sawyer S A, Vásquez R. Dynamics and species richness of tropical rain forests. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 1994, 91:2805-2809.
48. Rajaniemi T K. Explaining productivity-diversity relationships in plants. Oikos 2003, 101:449-457.
49. Richter M. Using epiphytes and soil temperatures for eco-climatic interpretations in Southern Ecuador. Erdkunde 2003, 57:161-181.
50. Röderstein M, Hertel D, Leuschner C. Above- and below-ground litter production in three tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador. J. Trop. Ecol. 2005, 21:483-492.
51. Rollenbeck R, Fabian P, Bendix J. Precipitation dynamics and chemical properties in tropical mountain forests of Ecuador. Adv. Geosci. 2005, 6:1-4.
52. Rothe A, Binkley D. Nutritional interactions in mixed species forests: A synthesis. Can. J. For. Res. 2001, 31:1855-1870.
53. Schrumpf M, Guggenberger G, Valarezo C, Zech W. Tropical montane rain forest soils - development and nutrient status along an altitudinal gradient in the South Ecuadorian Andes. Die Erde 2001, 132:43-59.
54. Slik J W F, Raes N, Aiba S-I, Brearley F Q, Cannon C H, Meijaard E, Nagamasu H, Nilus R, Paoli G, Poulsen A D, Sheil D, Suzuki E, van Valkenburg J L C H, Webb C O, Wilkie P, Wulffraat S. Environmental correlates for tropical tree diversity and distribution patterns in Borneo. Divers. Distrib 2009, 15:523-532.
55. Soethe N, Wilcke W, Homeier J, Lehmann J, Engels C. Plant growth along the altitudinal gradient - role of plant nutritional status, fine root activity and soil properties. Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological studies 2008, Vol. 198:259-266. Beck E, Bendix J, Kottke I, Makeschin F, Mosandl R. (Eds.), pp, Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany
56. Takyu M, Aiba S, Kitayama K. Effects of topography on tropical lower montane forests under different geological conditions on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Plant Ecol. 2002, 159:35-49.
57. Tanner E V J. Four montane rain forests of Jamaica: A quantitative characterization of the floristics, the soils and the foliar mineral levels, and a discussion of the interrelations. J. Ecol. 1977, 65:883-918.
58. Tanner E V J, Kapos V, Franco W. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization effects on Venezuelan montane forest trunk growth and litterfall. Ecology 1992, 73:78-86.
59. Tanner E V J, Kapos V, Freskos S, Healey J R, Theobald A M. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization of Jamaican montane forest trees. J. Trop. Ecol. 1990, 6:231-238.
60. Tilman D, Pacala S. The maintenance of species richness in plant communities. Species diversity in ecological communities: Historical and geographical perspectives 1993, 13-25. Ricklefs R E, Schluter D. (Eds.), pp, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois
61. Valencia R, Cerón C, Palacios W, Sierra R. Las formaciones naturales de la sierra del Ecuador. Propuesta preliminar de un sistema de clasificación de vegetación para el Ecuador continental 1999, 79-108. Sierra R, (Ed.), pp, Proyecto INEFAN/GEF-BIRF y EcoCiencia, Quito, Ecuador
62. Valencia R, Jørgensen P M. Composition and structure of a humid montane forest on the Pasochoa volcano, Ecuador. Nord. J. Bot. 1992, 12:239-247.
63. Libro rojo de las plantas endémicas del Ecuador 2000 2000, Valencia RPitman NLeó-Yánez SJørgensen P M. (Eds.), Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
64. Vitousek P M, Farrington H. Nutrient limitation and soil development: Experimental test of a biogeochemical theory. Biogeochemistry 1997, 37:63-75.
65. Vitousek P M, Walker L R, Whiteaker L D, Matson P A. Nutrient limitations to plant growth during primary succession in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Biogeochemistry 1993, 23:197-215.
66. Waide R B, Willig M R, Steiner C F, Mittelbach G, Gough L, Dodson S I, Juday G P, Parmenter R. The relationship between productivity and species richness. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1999, 30:257-300.
67. Webb E L, Stanfield B J, Jensen M L. Effects of topography on rainforest tree community structure and diversity in American Samoa, and implications for frugivore and nectarivore populations. J. Biogeogr. 1999, 26:887-897.
68. Webster G L, Rhode R M. Inventario de las plantas vasculares de un bosque montano nublado. Flora de la Reserva Maquipucuna, Ecuador 2007, Ediciones Abya-Yala, Fundacion Maquipucuna, Corporación SIMBIOE y Conservation International Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
69. Weigend M. Observations on the biogeography of the Amotape-Huancabamba zone in northern Peru. Bot. Rev. 2002, 68:38-54.
70. Wilcke W, Oelmann Y, Schmitt A, Valarezo C, Zech W, Homeier J. Soil properties and tree growth along an altitudinal transect in Ecuadorian tropical montane forest. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 2008, 171:220-230.
71. Wilcke W, Yasin S, Abramowski U, Valarezo C, Zech W. Nutrient storage and turnover in organic layers under tropical montane rain forest in Ecuador. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 2002, 53:15-27.
72. Young K R, Reynel C. Huancabamba region, Peru and Ecuador. Centers of plant diversity, a guide and strategy for their conservation, Vol. 3. The Americas 1997, 465-469. Davis S D, Heywood V HHerrera-MacBryde OVilla-Lobos JHamilton A C. (Eds.), pp, IUCN Publications Unit, Cambridge, UK