Tree Species Composition Predicts Epiphytic Lichen Communities in an African Montane Rain Forest
Tree Species Composition Predicts Epiphytic Lichen Communities in an African Montane Rain Forest
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DOI：
10.1111/btp.12237
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发表时间：
2015-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Gustafsson, Lena
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Frisch, Andreas;Rudolphi, Jorgen;Gustafsson, Lena
许多热带雨林生物的生态学，尤其是在非洲，仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们对乌干达Bwindi国家公园（331公里(2)）的赤道山地雨林中的附生地衣进行了详细的生态学研究。我们评估了所有主要的地衣生长形式，包括选定的甲壳地衣群。在海拔1290 ~ 2500m的14个样带中，共采集了60种276棵乔木。地衣种类分布在地表至距地面2m之间的每棵树干上，共有67属191种地衣，平均每棵树4.7种。采用非度量的多维尺度，根据树种组成和海拔高度对附生地衣组合进行了分离。结构方程模型表明，海拔高度影响树种组成，树种组成在很大程度上决定了地衣物种组成。因此，海拔间接影响了地衣的组合。进一步研究诸如树皮特性和地衣定植生态等因素可能会澄清是什么决定了树种和地衣组合之间的关系。地衣组合与大尺度海拔格局之间的联系，以及干扰和再生历史，值得进一步研究。对发生在大海拔范围内的单个树种的地衣物种组成的分析将区分树种对地衣组合的影响与海拔和气候的影响。我们的研究强调了我们对热带附生地衣的知识的有限程度。
The ecology of many tropical rain forest organisms, not the least in Africa, remains poorly understood. Here, we present a detailed ecological study of epiphytic lichens in the equatorial montane rain forest of Bwindi National Park (331km(2)), Uganda. We evaluated all major lichen growth forms, including selected groups of crustose lichens. In 14 transects at elevations of 1290m to 2500m, we sampled 276 trees belonging to 60 species. We recorded all lichen species on each tree trunk between ground level and 2m above the ground, yielding 191 lichen species in 67 genera, with a mean of 4.7 species per tree. We used non-metric multi-dimensional scaling to separate epiphytic lichen assemblages according to tree species composition and elevation. Structural equation modeling indicated that elevation influenced tree species composition and that tree species composition largely determined lichen species composition. Thus, elevation acted indirectly on the lichen assemblages. Further studies examining factors such as bark properties and lichen colonization ecology may clarify what determines the association between tree species and lichen assemblages. The link between lichen assemblages and large-scale elevation patterns, as well as disturbance and regrowth histories, warrants further study. An analysis of lichen species composition on individual tree species that occur over large elevation ranges would distinguish the effect of tree species on lichen assemblages from the effect of elevation and thus climate. Our study highlights the limited extent of our knowledge of tropical epiphytic lichens.