Data from: Lianas decelerate tropical forest thinning during succession

The well-established pattern of forest thinning during succession predicts an<br> increase in mean tree biomass with decreasing tree density. The forest thinning<br> pattern is commonly assumed to be driven solely by tree-tree competition. The<br> presence of non-tree competitors could alter thinning trajectories, thus<br> altering the rate of forest succession and carbon uptake. We used a large-scale<br> liana removal experiment over 7 years in a 60-to-70-year-old Panamanian forest<br> to test the hypothesis that lianas reduce the rate of forest thinning during<br> succession. We found that lianas slowed forest thinning by reducing tree growth,<br> not by altering tree recruitment or mortality. Without lianas, trees grew and<br> presumably competed more, ultimately reducing tree density while increasing mean<br> tree biomass. Our findings challenge the assumption that forest thinning is<br> driven solely by tree-tree interactions; instead, they demonstrate that<br> competition from other growth forms, such as lianas, slow forest thinning and<br> ultimately delay forest succession.<br>