Replication Data for Proximity to the host is an important characteristic for selection of the first support in lianas

Lianas depend on support to reach optimal growing conditions. They can infest trees unevenly, and host selection may depend on functional characteristics of the potential hosts, such as growth rate, bark type or tree architecture. In this context we hypothesized that (1) simple proximity to the rooting point of the liana is the overriding property predicting the probability of selection as the host; (2) the distance to the host decreases with increasing stem density in the surrounding community; (3) host distance becomes more variable with liana age (~diameter), as some larger lianas probably have already lost their first host, whereas small lianas should use the nearest available stem to climb; and (iv) liana infestation of plant families is proportional to family abundance.