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Lianas constitute a diverse polyphyletic plant group that is advancing our understanding of ecological theory. Specifically, lianas are providing newinsights into the mechanisms that control plant distribution and diversity maintenance. For example, there is now evidence that a single, scalable mechanism may explain local, regional, and pan-tropical distribution of lianas, as well as the maintenance of liana species diversity. The ability to outcompete trees under dry, stressful conditions in seasonal forests provides lianas a growth advantage that, over time, results in relatively high abundance in seasonal forests and low abundance in aseasonal forests. Lianas may also gain a similar growth advantage following disturbance, thus explaining why liana density and diversity peak following disturbance at the local, forest scale. The study of ecology, however, is more than the effect of the environment on organisms; it also includes the effects of organisms on the environment. Considerable empirical evidence now indicates that lianas substantially alter their environment by consuming resources, suppressing tree performance, and influencing emergent properties of forests, such as ecosystem functioning, plant and animal diversity, and community composition. These recent studies using lianas are transcending classical tropical ecology research and are now providing novel insights into fundamental ecological theory.

1. Lianas face a dilemma: how can they achieve a balance between the benefits they gain from light capture in their host canopies and the risk of falls resulting from the deleterious effects they have on the growth and survival of their host trees? To address this issue, we investigated leaf distribution patterns, canopy dynamics and the impact of four liana species on the growth of their hosts. 2. In the forest canopy, the majority of the leaves of Actinidia arguta (Actinidiaceae) received >80% irradiance relative to the canopy top. The leaf mass and the length of the canopy framework of this species increased linearly with time after it had reached the forest canopy (estimated from the number of growth rings in the main liana stem at 8 m height). In contrast, a much lower percentage irradiance was received by leaves of the three other species, Celastrus orbiculatus (40-80%, Celastraceae), Schisandra repanda (<40%, Schisandraceae) and Schizophragma hydrangeoides (<20%, Hydrangeaceae). In these species, canopy sizes did not change markedly with time. Species that intercepted more light acquired a larger number of host trees. 3. Growth-ring widths of the host trees of A. arguta and C. orbiculatus were smaller than those of liana-free trees; this difference was not significant in the two species that intercepted less light. The length of the basal stem between the rooting point and the point of attachment to the current host tree was greater in species that intercepted more light, suggesting the successful movement of these lianas to new hosts following the death of previous host trees. 4. Synthesis. Lianas have various ecological strategies for resolving their dilemma. They may be aggressive and rapidly spread in host canopies, intercepting much light, but reducing the risk of falls by acquiring many host trees to balance their top-heavy architecture. Alternatively, they may be commensal, whereby small liana canopies in lower positions in their host canopies acquire less light, but do not negatively affect the current hosts. Such variations reflect niche differentiation among species, and could be an important mechanism underlying the diversification and coexistence of liana species.

What determines large-scale patterns of species richness remains one of the most controversial issues in ecology. Using the distribution maps of 11 405 woody species in China, we compared the effects of habitat heterogeneity, human activities and different aspects of climate, particularly environmental energy, water–energy dynamics and winter frost, and explored how biogeographic affinities (tropical versus temperate) influence richness–climate relationships. We found that the species richness of trees, shrubs, lianas and all woody plants strongly correlated with each other, and more strongly correlated with the species richness of tropical affinity than with that of temperate affinity. The mean temperature of the coldest quarter was the strongest predictor of species richness, and its explanatory power for species richness was significantly higher for tropical affinity than for temperate affinity. These results suggest that the patterns of woody species richness mainly result from the increasing intensity of frost filtering for tropical species from the equator/lowlands towards the poles/highlands, and hence support the freezing-tolerance hypothesis. A model based on these results was developed, which explained 76–85% of species richness variation in China, and reasonably predicted the species richness of woody plants in North America and the Northern Hemisphere.

We provide an overview of research on climbing plants from Charles Darwin to the present day. Following Darwin's interests, this review will focus on functional perspectives including attachment mechanisms and stem structure and function. We draw attention to a number of unsolved problems inviting future research. These include the mechanism for establishment of the twining habit, a quantitative description following the development of a tissue element through space and time, the chemistry of sticky exudates, the microstructure of xylem and the capacity for water storage, the vulnerability to embolism, and the mechanism for embolism repair. In conclusion we cite evidence that, in response to increasing CO2 concentration, anthropic perturbation and/ or increasing forest fragmentation, lianas are increasing relative to tree species. In the 21st century, we are returning to the multiscale, multidisciplinary approach taken by Darwin to understand natural history.

Negative density dependence (NDD) and habitat specialization have received strong empirical support as mechanisms that explain tree species diversity maintenance and distribution in tropical forests. In contrast, disturbance appears to play only a minor role. Previous studies have rarely examined the relative strengths of these diversity maintenance mechanisms concurrently, and few studies have included plant groups other than trees. Here we used a large, spatially explicit data set from Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI) to test whether liana and tree species distribution patterns are most consistent with NDD, habitat specialization, or disturbance. We found compelling evidence that trees responded to habitat specialization and NDD; however, only disturbance explained the distribution of the majority of liana species and maintained liana diversity. Lianas appear to respond to disturbance with high vegetative (clonal) reproduction, and liana species' ability to produce clonal stems following disturbance results in a clumped spatial distribution. Thus, clonal reproduction following disturbance explains local liana spatial distribution and diversity maintenance on BCI, whereas negative density dependence and habitat specialization, two prominent mechanisms contributing to tree species diversity and distribution, do not.

Lianas (climbing woody vines) are important structural parasites of tropical trees and may be increasing in abundance in response to global-change drivers. We assessed long-term (∼14-year) changes in liana abundance and forest dynamics within 36 1-ha permanent plots spanning ∼600 km 2 of undisturbed rainforest in central Amazonia. Within each plot, we counted each liana stem (≥2 cm diameter) and measured its diameter at 1.3 m height, and then used these data to estimate liana aboveground biomass. An initial liana survey was completed in 1997-1999 and then repeated in 2012, using identical methods. Liana abundance in the plots increased by an average of 1.00% ± 0.88% per year, leading to a highly significant ( t = 6.58, df = 35, P < 0.00001) increase in liana stem numbers. Liana biomass rose more slowly over time (0.32% ± 1.37% per year) and the mean difference between the two sampling intervals was nonsignificant ( t = 1.46, df = 35, P = 0.15; paired t tests). Liana size distributions shifted significantly (χ 2 = 191, df = 8, P < 0.0001; Chi-square test for independence) between censuses, mainly as a result of a nearly 40% increase in the number of smaller (2-3 cm diameter) lianas, suggesting that lianas recruited rapidly during the study. We used long-term data on rainfall and forest dynamics from our study site to test hypotheses about potential drivers of change in liana communities. Lianas generally increase with rainfall seasonality, but we found no significant trends over time (1997-2012) in five rainfall parameters (total annual rainfall, dry-season rainfall, wet-season rainfall, number of very dry months, CV of monthly rainfall). However, rates of tree mortality and recruitment have increased significantly over time in our plots, and general linear mixed-effect models suggested that lianas were more abundant at sites with higher tree mortality and flatter topography. Rising concentrations of atmospheric CO 2 , which may stimulate liana growth, might also have promoted liana increases. Our findings clearly support the view that lianas are increasing in abundance in old-growth tropical forests, possibly in response to accelerating forest dynamics and rising CO 2 concentrations. The aboveground biomass of trees was lowest in plots with abundant lianas, suggesting that lianas could reduce forest carbon storage and potentially alter forest dynamics if they continue to proliferate.

Treefall gaps are the \"engines of regeneration\" in tropical forests and are loci of high tree recruitment, growth, and carbon accumulation. Gaps, however, are also sites of intense competition between lianas and trees, whereby lianas can dramatically reduce tree carbon uptake and accumulation. Because lianas have relatively low biomass, they may displace far more biomass than they contribute, a hypothesis that has never been tested with the appropriate experiments. We tested this hypothesis with an 8-yr liana removal experiment in central Panama. After 8 years, mean tree biomass accumulation was 180% greater in liana-free treefall gaps compared to control gaps. Lianas themselves contributed only 24% of the tree biomass accumulation they displaced. Scaling to the forest level revealed that lianas in gaps reduced net forest woody biomass accumulation by 8.9% to nearly 18%. Consequently, lianas reduce whole-forest carbon uptake despite their relatively low biomass. This is the first study to demonstrate experimentally that plant-plant competition can result in ecosystem-wide losses in forest carbon, and it has critical implications for recently observed increases in liana density and biomass on tropical forest carbon dynamics.

Lianas (woody vines) are important components of forest ecosystems and are often found to proliferate in young forests that have experienced large-scale disturbances. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms of the spatial assembly patterns of co-occurring lianas and trees in the temperate secondary forest stands. In this study, we examined the woody plants (lianas and trees) with a stem diameter > 1 cm within a one-hectare plot on a steep mountain slope (32° average slope angle) in a temperate secondary forest in central Japan. We investigated the impact of the host trees, topography, and canopy gaps on the distribution of liana. We aimed to determine the factors that influence the spatial distribution differences between the co-occurring lianas and trees. The results were validated using the 10 m × 10 m quadrats (N = 40) distributed across 23 ha within the study site. We recorded 123 liana stems on 1536 trees belonging to 57 woody species in the one-hectare plot. The findings revealed that lianas are more abundant on larger host trees and less common in high tree density areas. Small and large lianas preferred steep and moderate slopes, respectively, whereas larger trees were primarily found on steep slopes. These variations in liana and tree distribution patterns on steep slopes, which we observed throughout their life history, may be attributed to the combined effects of varied historical anthropogenic disturbances and grazing impacts. This highlights the need to consider the diverse environmental responses of lianas and trees at the different life history stages to accurately understand liana colonization and proliferation in forests.

• Premise of the study: Vessels are the chief conduit for long-distance water transport in the majority of flowering plants. Vessel length is a key trait that determines plant hydraulic efficiency and safety, yet relatively little is known about this xylem feature.• Methods: We used previously published studies to generate a new global data set of vessel length in woody plants. These data were used to examine how evolutionary history, plant habit, environment, and growth ring porosity influenced vessel length. We also examined the relationship between mean vessel length and mean vessel diameter and maximum vessel length.• Key results: Data on mean vessel length were available for stems of 130 species and on maximum vessel length for stems of 91 species. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that vessel length did not exhibit significant phylogenetic signal. Liana species had longer vessel lengths than in tree or shrub species. Vessel diameter was not predictive of mean vessel length, but maximum vessel length strongly predicted mean vessel length. Vessel length did not vary between species that differed in growth ring porosity.• Conclusions: Many traits often assumed to be linked to vessel length, including growth ring porosity and vessel diameter, are not associated with vessel length when compared interspecifically. Sampling for vessel length has been nonrandom, e.g., there are virtually no data available for roots, and sampling for environment has been confounded with sampling for habit. Increased knowledge of vessel length is key to understanding the structure and function of the plant hydraulic pathway.