Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T03:35:56.369Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The mechanism of general flowering in Dipterocarpaceae in theMalay Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

Masatoshi Yasuda ,
Jun Matsumoto ,
Noriyuki Osada ,
San'ei Ichikawa ,
Naoki Kachi ,
Makoto Tani ,
Toshinori Okuda ,
Akio Furukawa ,
Abdul Rahim Nik  and
N. Manokaran
Masatoshi Yasuda
Affiliation:
Wildlife Ecology Laboratory, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, PO Box 16, Tsukuba Norin, Ibaraki 305-8687 Japan (myasuda@ffpri.affrc.go.jp)
Jun Matsumoto
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, University Tokyo, Japan
Noriyuki Osada
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
San'ei Ichikawa
Affiliation:
Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
Naoki Kachi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
Makoto Tani
Affiliation:
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki, Japan
Toshinori Okuda
Affiliation:
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan
Akio Furukawa
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Nara Women University, Nara, Japan
Abdul Rahim Nik
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
N. Manokaran
Affiliation:
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The mechanism of general flowering in Dipterocarpaceae in the Malay Peninsula is revealed through field survey and meteorological data analyses. The regions of general flowering coincide with those which experienced a low night-time temperature (LNT) c. 2 mo before flowering. This supports the hypothesis that low air temperature induces the development of floral buds of dipterocarps. LNT was found to be caused by radiative cooling during dry spells in winter when the northern subtropical ridge (STR) occasionally migrates southwards with a dry air mass into the equatorial region. LNT events usually occur in La Niña episodes, not in El Niño episodes as believed previously. This is because the southward migration of the STR is associated with the intensification of local meridional Hadley Circulation in the western Pacific, which is strengthened in a La Niña episode. Results suggest that El Niño-like climate change in increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may be critical for the tropical rain forest biome in south-east Asia.

Keywords

DipterocarpaceaeEl Niño Southern Oscillationgeneral floweringLa Niña-STR hypothesislow night-time temperatureMalaysiareproductive ecology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , July 1999 , pp. 437 - 449
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)