Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Lianas are an integral component of tropical forests, and their increasing abundance may alter forest structure and function. Whether infested host trees are shorter and smaller-crowned because lianas suppress them, or because lianas preferentially colonise already small trees, has remained unresolved. We used a longitudinal dataset of individual liana infestation histories spanning fourteen years (2011–2025), combined with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)-derived structural metrics for 251 trees across 67 species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Bayesian analyses showed that persistently infested trees were shorter (−11.0%), with smaller crown projected area (−22.3%) and crown volume (−25.9%) than never-infested trees; the 95% credible intervals for these effects excluded zero. Pre-infestation crown architecture did not credibly predict subsequent colonisation. These patterns are more consistent with persistent infestation imposing lasting architectural legacies than with strong pre-existing architectural susceptibility, suggesting rising liana abundance may progressively reduce forest stature and canopy density, with implications for tropical carbon storage projections.
Language: English
Subfield: Forestry
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213592496