The DOI matches its Crossref record; 103 of the 103 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Increasing liana abundance and biomass in tropical forests: emerging patterns and putative mechanisms: Increasing lianas in tropical forests
Open accessAbstract
Tropical forests are experiencing large-scale structural changes, the most apparent of which may be the increase in liana (woody vine) abundance and biomass. Lianas permeate most lowland tropical forests, where they can have a huge effect on tree diversity, recruitment, growth and survival, which, in turn, can alter tree community composition, carbon storage and carbon, nutrient and water fluxes. Consequently, increasing liana abundance and biomass have potentially profound ramifications for tropical forest composition and functioning. Currently, eight studies support the pattern of increasing liana abundance and biomass in American tropical and subtropical forests, whereas two studies, both from Africa, do not. The putative mechanisms to explain increasing lianas include increasing evapotranspirative demand, increasing forest disturbance and turnover, changes in land use and fragmentation and elevated atmospheric CO₂. Each of these mechanisms probably contributes to the observed patterns of increasing liana abundance and biomass, and the mechanisms are likely to be interrelated and synergistic. To determine whether liana increases are occurring throughout the tropics and to determine the mechanisms responsible for the observed patterns, a widespread network of large-scale, long-term monitoring plots combined with observational and manipulative studies that more directly investigate the putative mechanisms are essential.
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“In the ‘degraded forest’ trajectory, feedbacks often involve competition between trees and other opportunistic plants85,90,92, as well as interactions between deforestation, fire and seed limitation84,87,105.”
From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [90]
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In the citing paper
“Liana forests can also be relatively stable, because lianas self-perpetuate by causing physical damage to trees, allowing lianas to remain at high density90,91.”
From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [90]
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In the citing paper
“Liana forests are expected to expand with increasing aridity, disturbance regimes and CO2 fertilization90.”
From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [90]
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Citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Schnitzer, S. A., & Bongers, F.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
- Venue
- Ecology Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-02-14
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 397-406
- ISSN
- 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2148550868
- Semantic Scholar
- cf8e151bf39fda6d22710e250b2fd985b190b2b2
- Cited by
- 543
- References
- 103
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 49 · 2014: 59 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 2.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Locations
- Ecology Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- Smithsonian Digital Repository (Smithsonian Institution) (submittedVersion)
- e-Publications@Marquette (Marquette University) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1019436, 0613666, 0845071)
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Wageningen University and Research
- Division of Environmental Biology
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Forest ecology and management
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Keywords
- lianas, liana abundance, tropical forests, forest structural change, evapotranspiration, forest disturbance, land use change, forest fragmentation, elevated CO2, tree recruitment, carbon storage, long-term monitoring plots
- MeSH terms
- Population Density, Trees, Tropical Climate, Ecosystem, Biomass, Magnoliopsida, Biodiversity, Carbon Cycle
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