Local Forest Structure and Host Specificity Influence Liana Community Composition in a Moist Central African Forest.

ABSTRACT: Lianas are important components of tropical forest diversity and dynamics, yet little is known about the drivers of their community structure and composition. Combining extensive field and LiDAR data, we investigated the influence of local topography, forest structure, and tree composition on liana community structure, and their floristic and functional composition, in a moist forest in northern Republic of Congo. We inventoried all lianas ≥ 1 cm in diameter in 144 20 × 20-m quadrats located in four 9-ha permanent plots, where trees and giant herbs were inventoried. We characterized the functional strategies of selected representatives of the main liana taxa using a set of resource-use leaf and wood traits. Finally, we used complementary statistical analyses, including multivariate and ran

SUBMITTER: Kacamak B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11896882 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature