Agent-based modeling of the effects of forest dynamics, selective logging, and fragment size on epiphyte communities.

ABSTRACT: Forest canopies play a crucial role in structuring communities of vascular epiphytes by providing substrate for colonization, by locally varying microclimate, and by causing epiphyte mortality due to branch or tree fall. However, as field studies in the three-dimensional habitat of epiphytes are generally challenging, our understanding of how forest structure and dynamics influence the structure and dynamics of epiphyte communities is scarce.Mechanistic models can improve our understanding of epiphyte community dynamics. We present such a model that couples dispersal, growth, and mortality of individual epiphytes with substrate dynamics, obtained from a three-dimensional functional-structural forest model, allowing the study of forest-epiphyte interactions. After validating the epiphyte mo

SUBMITTER: Petter G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7981202 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature