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Flowering and Fruiting Phenology of Woody Trees in the Tropical-Seasonal Rainforest, Southwestern China


Affiliations
1 Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan 666 303, China
2 Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4878, Australia
3 Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan-410 125, China
4 Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, State Key Laboratory in Conservation and Utilization of Bioresources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
 

The reproductive phenology of tropical plants is potentially driven by a number of abiotic and biotic factors. However, it is still unclear as to which climatic factors and biotic interactions drive the reproductive phenology of woody trees in the tropical seasonal rainforest of Xishuangbanna region in Southwest China. We conducted observations on woody plants (including trees and shrubs) phenology between November 2004 and October 2007 at biweekly intervals in the one hectare permanent plot of tropical seasonal rainforest in Southwest China. A total of 357 individuals of 76 species (70 genera, 37 families), comprising of 59 (78%) woody trees and 17 (22%) shrub species were observed. Our results demonstrate that flowering and fruiting frequencies show slight temporal variation between years. Flowering was significantly correlated with day-length, temperature and rainfall and fruiting was significantly correlated with rainfall and temperature. This finding indicates that woody tree reproductive phenology was primarily associated with temperature and rainfall and to a lesser extent with day-length. Reproductive phenology is also linked to seasonal patterns with flowering peaking in the late dry season and fruiting peaking in the late wet season. Moreover, reproductive phenology is also significantly associated with reproductive ecological guilds such as pollination types and dispersal modes. Community reproductive phenology is associated with climatic seasonality and biotic interactions. It also suggests that seasonal phenology patterns may play a fundamental role in community reproductive success in the tropical seasonal rainforest of Xishuangbanna region of South-west China.

Keywords

Biotic Factors, Climatic Variables, Plant Phenology, Seasonal Patterns, South China.
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  • Flowering and Fruiting Phenology of Woody Trees in the Tropical-Seasonal Rainforest, Southwestern China

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Authors

D. Mohandass
Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan 666 303, China
Mason J. Campbell
Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4878, Australia
Xin-Sheng Chen
Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan-410 125, China
Qing-Jun Li
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, State Key Laboratory in Conservation and Utilization of Bioresources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Abstract


The reproductive phenology of tropical plants is potentially driven by a number of abiotic and biotic factors. However, it is still unclear as to which climatic factors and biotic interactions drive the reproductive phenology of woody trees in the tropical seasonal rainforest of Xishuangbanna region in Southwest China. We conducted observations on woody plants (including trees and shrubs) phenology between November 2004 and October 2007 at biweekly intervals in the one hectare permanent plot of tropical seasonal rainforest in Southwest China. A total of 357 individuals of 76 species (70 genera, 37 families), comprising of 59 (78%) woody trees and 17 (22%) shrub species were observed. Our results demonstrate that flowering and fruiting frequencies show slight temporal variation between years. Flowering was significantly correlated with day-length, temperature and rainfall and fruiting was significantly correlated with rainfall and temperature. This finding indicates that woody tree reproductive phenology was primarily associated with temperature and rainfall and to a lesser extent with day-length. Reproductive phenology is also linked to seasonal patterns with flowering peaking in the late dry season and fruiting peaking in the late wet season. Moreover, reproductive phenology is also significantly associated with reproductive ecological guilds such as pollination types and dispersal modes. Community reproductive phenology is associated with climatic seasonality and biotic interactions. It also suggests that seasonal phenology patterns may play a fundamental role in community reproductive success in the tropical seasonal rainforest of Xishuangbanna region of South-west China.

Keywords


Biotic Factors, Climatic Variables, Plant Phenology, Seasonal Patterns, South China.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi11%2F2313-2322