Local canopy disturbance as an explanation for long-term increases in liana abundance

Canopy disturbance explains liana abundance and distribution within tropical forests and thus may also explain the widespread pattern of increasing liana abundance; however, this hypothesis remains untested. We used a 10-year study (2007 – 2017) of 117,100 rooted lianas in an old-growth Panamanian forest to test whether local canopy disturbance explains increasing liana abundance. We found that liana density increased 29.2% and basal area 12.5%. The vast majority of these increases were associated with clonal stem proliferation following canopy disturbance, particularly in liana-dense, low-canopy gaps, which had far greater liana increases than did undisturbed forest. Lianas may be ecological niche constructors; arresting tree regeneration in gaps and thus creating a high-light environment that favors sustained liana proliferation. Our findings demonstrate that liana abundance is increasing rapidly and their ability to proliferate via copious clonal stem production in canopy gaps explai...林冠干扰可解释热带森林内木质藤本（liana）的丰度与分布格局，进而也能解释全球范围内木质藤本丰度持续上升的普遍现象；然而该假说尚未得到验证。本研究对巴拿马一片原始老龄林中的117100株定植木质藤本开展了为期10年（2007年—2017年）的定位监测，以检验局域林冠干扰是否会驱动木质藤本丰度上升。研究结果显示，木质藤本的种群密度提升了29.2%，胸高断面积增加了12.5%。上述增长中的绝大多数都与林冠干扰后的克隆茎秆增殖有关，尤其是在藤本密集、林冠低矮的林隙中——这类生境的藤本种群增长幅度远高于未受干扰的森林。木质藤本或可作为生态位构建者：通过抑制林隙内的树木更新，营造出高光环境，进而促进木质藤本持续增殖。本研究结果表明，木质藤本丰度正快速提升，而其通过林隙内大量克隆茎秆增殖的能力可解释...