Work

Flower and Seed Production, Seedling Dynamics, and Tree Life Cycles

Year: 2024

Type: book-chapter

Abstract: We present highlights derived from 36 years of weekly observations of flower and seed production and 25 years of annual observations of seedling dynamics at Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Highlights concern levels and causes of spatial, temporal, and interspecific variation in flower production, seed production, seed dispersal, and seedling recruitment, growth, and survival as well as the consequences for plant regeneration and diversity. Full tree life cycles are assembled by combining seed production, seedling dynamics, and observations of larger plants from the 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot and are used to evaluate the costs of dioecy, lifetime insights from functional traits, and interspecific variation in the impact of lianas among host tree species. A variety of results demonstrate the importance of long-term observations to understand forest dynamics and responses to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and a changing climate.

Source: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press eBooks

DOI: 10.5479/si.26882626

Authors: Joseph Wright, Osvaldo Calderón, Andrés Hernández, Helene Muller-Landau

Language: English

Topic: Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

OpenAlex ID: W4405486472

FWCI: 9.461

Cites:

Cited by: 8

Related to: 10