Ecology of Lianas

Lianas are woody vines that were the focus of intense study by early ecologists, such as Darwin, who devoted an entire book to the natural history of climbing plants.  Over the past quarter century, there has been a resurgence in the study of lianas, and liana are again recognized as important components of many forests, particularly in the tropics.  The increasing amount of research on lianas has resulted in a fundamentally deeper understanding of liana ecology, evolution, and life-history, as well as the myriad roles lianas play in forest dynamics and functioning. 
This book provides insight into the ecology and evolution of lianas, their anatomy, physiology, and natural history, their global abundance and distribution, and their wide-ranging effects on the myriad organisms that inhabit tropical and temperate forests.

Contributors, vii

Foreword, xiii

Preface, xv

Acknowledgements, xvii

PART I INTRODUCTION, 1

1 The past, present, and potential future of liana ecology, 3
STEFAN A. SCHNITZER, FRANCIS E. PUTZ, FRANS BONGERS, AND KRISTINA KROENING

PART II PATTERNS OF LIANA DEMOGRAPHY AND DISTRIBUTION: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL, 11

2 Liana abundance and diversity in Cameroon’s Korup National Park, 13
DUNCAN THOMAS, ROBYN J. BURNHAM, GEORGE CHUYONG, DAVID KENFACK, AND MOSES NSANYI SAINGE

3 Dynamics of lianas in DR Congo, 23
FRANS BONGERS AND CORNEILLE E.N. EWANGO

4 Liana composition and diversity among tropical forest types of peninsular India, 36
NARAYANASWAMY PARTHASARATHY, S. MUTHURAMKUMAR, CHELLAMMUTHUMPERUMAL, P. VIVEK, N. AYYAPPAN, AND M. SRIDHAR REDDY

5 Diversity and distribution of lianas in Yasuní, Ecuador, 50
ROBYN J. BURNHAM AND HUGO G. ROMERO-SALTOS

6 Liana assemblage structure in four sites across the Brazilian Amazon, 65
ANSELMO NOGUEIRA, FLAVIA R.C. COSTA, MÁRCIA C. VILELA-SANTOS, CAROLINA V. CASTILHO, ANA ANDRADE, JOSÉ LUÍS C. CAMARGO, WILLIAM F. LAURANCE, AND ROBYN J. BURNHAM

7 The lianas of Barro Colorado Island, Panama, 76
STEFAN A. SCHNITZER, SCOTT A.MANGAN, AND STEPHEN P. HUBBELL

8 Diversity and distribution of lianas in Mexico, 91
GUILLERMO IBARRA-MANRÍQUEZ, PABLO CARRILLO-REYES, FRANCISCO JAVIER RENDÓN-SANDOVAL, AND GUADALUPE CORNEJO-TENORIO

9 Climbing plant diversity in Australia: taxonomy, biogeography and functional traits, 104
RACHAEL V. GALLAGHER

10 Patterns of liana succession in tropical forests, 116
SUSAN G. LETCHER

11 Biogeographical patterns of liana abundance and diversity, 131
SAARA J. DEWALT, STEFAN A. SCHNITZER, LUCIANA F. ALVES, FRANS BONGERS, ROBYN J. BURNHAM,
ZHIQUAN CAI,WALTER P. CARSON, JÉRÔME CHAVE, GEORGE B. CHUYONG, FLAVIA R. C. COSTA, CORNEILLE E. N. EWANGO, RACHAEL V. GALLAGHER, JEFFREY J. GERWING, ESTEBAN GORTAIRE AMEZCUA, TERESE HART, GUILLERMO IBARRA-MANRÍQUEZ, KALAN ICKES, DAVID KENFACK, SUSAN G. LETCHER, MANUEL J.MACÍA, JEAN-REMYMAKANA, AGUSTINA MALIZIA, MIGUEL MARTÍNEZ-RAMOS, JOSEPH MASCARO, CHELLAMMUTHUMPERUMAL, S. MUTHURAMKUMAR, ANSELMO NOGUEIRA, MARC P. E. PARREN, NARAYANASWAMY PARTHASARATHY, DIEGO R. PÉREZ-SALICRUP, FRANCIS E. PUTZ, HUGO G. ROMERO-SALTOS, M. SRIDHAR REDDY,MOSES NSANYI SAINGE, DUNCAN THOMAS, AND JULIANO VAN MELIS

PART III LIANA–TREE COMPETITION: COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM LEVEL EFFECTS, 147

12 Above- and belowground competition between lianas and trees, 149
TARIN TOLEDO-ACEVES

13 Impacts of lianas on forest-level carbon storage and sequestration, 164
GEERTJEM.F. VAN DER HEIJDEN, OLIVER L. PHILLIPS, AND STEFAN A. SCHNITZER

14 Reciprocal interactions between lianas and forest soil, 175
JENNIFER S. POWERS

15 The role of lianas in temperate tree communities, 188
LAURAM. LADWIG AND SCOTT J.MEINERS

PART IV LIANA EVOLUTION, 203

16 Climbing plants in the fossil record: Paleozoic to present, 205
ROBYN J. BURNHAM

17 The evolution of angiosperm lianescence: a perspective from xylem structure-function, 221
SANDRINE ISNARD AND TAYLOR S. FEILD

18 Evolutionary implications of the climbing habit in plants, 239
ERNESTO GIANOLI

PART V LIANA ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND BIOMECHANICS, 251

19 Liana anatomy: a broad perspective on structural evolution of the vascular system, 253
VERONICA ANGYALOSSY,MARCELO R. PACE, AND ANDRÉ C. LIMA

20 Physiological implications of the liana growth form, 288
LOUIS S. SANTIAGO, SARAH C. PASQUINI, AND MARK E. DE GUZMAN

21 Canopy chemistry expresses the life-history strategies of lianas and trees, 299
GREGORY P. ASNER AND ROBERTA E.MARTIN

22 Liana–nutrient relations, 309
MARIAN KAZDA

23 Stem biomechanics, strength of attachment, and developmental plasticity of vines and lianas, 323
NICK P. ROWE AND THOMAS SPECK

PART VI LIANA–ANIMAL INTERACTIONS, 343

24 Effects of lianas on canopy arthropod community structure, 345
STEPHEN P. YANOVIAK

25 Liana–bird relationships: a review, 362
NICOLE L.MICHEL,W. DOUGLAS ROBINSON, AND THOMAS W. SHERRY

26 Relationship between lianas and arboreal mammals: examining the Emmons–Gentry hypothesis, 398
THOMAS D. LAMBERT, ANDMICHAELA K. HALSEY

27 Use of lianas by primates: more than a food source, 407
VÍCTOR ARROYO-RODRÍGUEZ, NORBERTO ASENSIO, JACOB C. DUNN, JURGI CRISTÓBAL-AZKARATE, AND
ARTURO GONZALEZ-ZAMORA

PART VII LIANAS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION, 427

28 Lianas as invasive species in North America, 429
STACEY A. LEICHT-YOUNG AND NOEL B. PAVLOVIC

29 Ecological effects of lianas in fragmented forests, 443
MASON CAMPBELL, WILLIAM F. LAURANCE, AND AINHOA MAGRACH

30 Increasing liana abundance in neotropical forests: causes and consequences, 451
STEFAN A. SCHNITZER

Index, 465

Dr Stefan A. Schnitzer has studied tropical forest ecology in Borneo, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Panama.  He is currently a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and a Research Associate with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Republic of Panama. 

Frans Bongers has studied lianas for 20 years, analysing liana communities, populations and autecology, as well as liana use and management, mostly in the context of forest dynamics. He is Professor of Tropical Forest Ecology  at Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Robyn J. Burnham is Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan and a Research Associate at Smithsonian Institution, Field Museum, and Missouri Botanical Garden. She has a dedicated focus on the species of climbing plants that dominate the Amazon Basin, from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and all the way across Brazil, to the mouth of the Amazon river. 

Francis E. Putz started his research on liana ecology and management in the 1970s in Southeast Asia, but has since spent an equal amount of time in Latin America researching vines and forest conservation. He is a Professor at the University of Florida and a Senior Research Associate with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia.