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Above- and below-ground competition in high and low irradiance: tree seedling responses to a competing liana Byttneria grandifolia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2008

Ya-Jun Chen ,
Frans Bongers ,
Kun-Fang Cao  and
Zhi-quan Cai
Ya-Jun Chen
Affiliation:
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, PR China
Frans Bongers
Affiliation:
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
Kun-Fang Cao
Affiliation:
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, PR China
Zhi-quan Cai*
Affiliation:
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, PR China Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
1Corresponding author. Present postal address: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China. Email: czq@xtbg.org.cn
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Abstract:

In tropical forests, trees compete not only with other trees, but also with lianas, which may limit tree growth and regeneration. Liana effects may depend on the availability of above- and below-ground resources and differ between tree species. We conducted a shade house experiment to test the effect of light (4% and 35% full sun, using neutral-density screen) on the competitive interactions between seedlings of one liana (Byttneria grandifolia) and three tree species (two shade-tolerant trees, Litsea dilleniifolia and Pometia tomentosa, and one light-demanding tree, Bauhinia variegata) and to evaluate the contribution of both above- and below-ground competition. Trees were grown in four competition treatments with the liana: no competition, root competition, shoot competition and root and shoot competition. Light strongly affected leaf photosynthetic capacity (light-saturated photosynthetic rate, Pn), growth and most morphological traits of the tree species. Liana-induced competition resulted in reduced Pn, total leaf areas and relative growth rates (RGR) of the three tree species. The relative importance of above- and below-ground competition differed between the two light levels. In low light, RGR of the three tree species was reduced more strongly by shoot competition (23.1–28.7% reduction) than by root competition (5.3–26.4%). In high light, in contrast, root competition rather than shoot competition greatly reduced RGR. Liana competition affected most morphological traits (except for specific leaf area and leaf area ratio of Litsea and Pometia), and differentially altered patterns of biomass allocation in the tree seedlings. These findings suggest that competition from liana seedlings can greatly suppress growth in tree seedlings of both light-demanding and shade-tolerant species and those effects differ with competition type (below- and above-ground) and with irradiance.

Keywords

competitionlianamorphological traitsphotosynthesisrelative growth rate
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 24 , Issue 5 , September 2008 , pp. 517 - 524
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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