Long-Term Studies of Small-Sapling Community Dynamics in Relation to Light Gaps in a Neotropical Forest

新热带森林中小树苗群落动态与光隙关系的长期研究

• 批准号: 0075102
• 负责人: Stephen Hubbell
• 金额: $ 30.98万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-09-15 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0075102&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Long; Term; Studies; Small; Sapling

HUBBELL The objective of this research is to conduct an annual census ofseedlings and saplings in a tropical rain forest in Panama, to monitor theirannual growth, survival, and recruitment for 5 years. We will also recordthe location and dynamics of all treefall light gaps that open in theforest, because these are the main sites for forest regeneration, whereseedling and small sapling dynamics are accelerated. The dynamics of thisforest, located on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in the Panama Canal, has beenstudied for the past two decades, but thus far seedlings and small saplingshave not been included. These new data will enable us to test alternativehypotheses for how the more than 300 species of trees are maintained andcoexist in the BCI forest. New evidence suggests that host-specific fungalpathogens that kill seeds and seedlings may be important agents regulatingtree diversity in the BCI forest. We will test this hypothesis and testthe strength of density-dependent regulation in the seedling and smallsapling community. We will also test the hypothesis that treefall gaps,interacting with limited seed dispersal, limit the recruitment success ofmost tree species in the BCI forest. The work is likely to have broadersignificance for understanding how tropical forests in general maintain hightree species diversity.

哈贝尔 本研究的目的是对巴拿马热带雨林中的幼苗和树苗进行年度普查，以监测它们的年生长、存活和补充，为期5年。 我们还将记录所有在森林中开放的树落光隙的位置和动态，因为这些是森林再生的主要场所，在那里种子和小树苗的动态被加速。这片位于巴拿马运河巴罗科罗拉多岛（BCI）的森林的动态在过去的二十年里一直被研究，但到目前为止，幼苗和小树苗还没有被包括在内。 这些新的数据将使我们能够测试替代假设如何超过300种树木是维护和共存的BCI森林。 新的证据表明，杀死种子和幼苗的宿主特异性真菌病原体可能是调节BCI森林中树木多样性的重要因素。 我们将检验这一假设，并在幼苗和小树苗群落中检验密度依赖性调节的强度。 我们还将测试的假设，树落间隙，相互作用有限的种子传播，限制招聘成功ofmost树种在BCI森林。这项工作可能对理解热带森林一般如何保持高树种多样性具有更广泛的意义。