Lianas rapidly colonize early stages of tropical forests, presumably through leaf trait diversification

Questions: Ecological succession is the process during which ecosystems recover after disturbances. Studies investigating community re-assembly during tropical forest succession have rarely compared lianas to trees. We addressed two questions: (1) How do changes in stem density, total basal area, and species richness of lianas and trees compare throughout a secondary succession, and to what extent does the relative basal area of lianas change along a secondary succession? (2) How do the successional trajectories of functional community trait values of lianas and trees compare?
Location: Yoko forest reserve, central Congo basin.
Methods: Using univariate Bayesian modeling techniques, we analyzed differences in successional pathways between lianas and trees in terms of community structure, and functional assembly in a replicated chronosequence spanning from young to old-growth forests.
Results: We found divergent structural trajectories between lianas and trees along the forest chronosequ...