Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:54:58.960Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ficus natalensis facilitates the establishment of a montane rain-forest tree in south-east African tropical woodlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2014

Tomohiro Fujita
Tomohiro Fujita*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
*
1Correspondence address: 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606–8501. Japan. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Nucleation, leading to the formation of tropical forest patches in open areas, has occurred in many parts of the world. This study examined the role of Ficus natalensis as a nucleus and estimated seed dispersers in the nucleation process. Seed rain and post-dispersal fate of Syzygium guineense ssp. afromontanum (a common forest tree species) under eight F. natalensis crowns were compared with those in other woodland microsites. In addition, focal observations of frugivore were conducted at F. natalensis in the woodlands and S. guineense ssp. afromontanum in the forest, when both species were fruiting. Most dispersed seeds (85%) were found under F. natalensis, and the number of dispersed seeds was significantly greater under F. natalensis than at other microsites. Germination (n = 600) and survival percentages (n = 384) were greater under F. natalensis compared with those in treeless open microsites. These results suggest that F. natalensis act as efficient nuclei in nucleation process. Results of focal observations at S. guineense ssp. afromontanum (100 h) showed that Schalow's turaco consumed 63% of fruit and swallowed all pecked fruit. Schalow's turaco also visited fruiting F. natalensis frequently (0.4 h−1) during 80 h of observations, indicating that Schalow's turaco is an important seed disperser during nucleation.

Keywords

Ficusforest–savanna boundarymiombo woodlandmontane rain forestSchalow’s turacoseed dispersalseed rainSyzygium guineense ssp. afromontanum
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 303 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

BERENS, D. G., FARWIG, N., SCHAAB, G. & BOHNING-GAESE, K. 2008. Exotic guavas are foci of forest regeneration in Kenyan farmland. Biotropica 40:104–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOWMAN, D. M. J. S., MURPHY, B. P. & BANFAI, D. S. 2010. Has global environmental change caused monsoon rainforests to expand in the Australian monsoon tropics? Landscape Ecology 25:1247–1260.Google Scholar
CAMPBELL, B., FROST, P. & BYRON, N. 1996. Miombo woodlands and their use: overview and key issues. Pp. 1–5 in Campbell, B. (ed.). The Miombo in transition: woodlands and welfare in Africa. Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor. 261 pp.Google Scholar
CHAPMAN, J. D. 1970. Part II. Description of the forest. Pp. 113–180 in Chapman, J. D. & White, F. (eds.). The evergreen forests of Malawi. Commonwealth Forestry Institute, Oxford. 190 pp.Google Scholar
CLARK, C. J., POULSEN, J. R., CONNOR, E. F. & PARKER, V. T. 2004. Fruiting trees as dispersal foci in a semi-deciduous tropical forest. Oecologia 139:66–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CORBIN, J. D. & HOLL, K. D. 2012. Applied nucleation as a forest restoration strategy. Forest Ecology and Management 265:37–46.Google Scholar
DOWSETT-LEMAIRE, F. 1988. Fruit choice and seed dissemination by birds and mammals in the evergreen forests of upland Malawi. Revue d’Écologie 43:251–285.Google Scholar
DOWSETT-LEMAIRE, F. & DOWSETT, R. J. 2006. The birds of Malawi: an atlas and handbook. Tauraco Press and Aves, Liege. 556 pp.Google Scholar
DUARTE, L. D. S., CARLUCCI, M. B., HARTZ, S. M. & PILLAR, V. D. 2007. Plant dispersal strategies and the colonization of Araucaria forest patches in a grassland–forest mosaic. Journal of Vegetation Science 18:847–858.Google Scholar
EKBLOM, A. 2008. Forest–savanna dynamics in the coastal lowland of southern Mozambique since c. AD 1400. The Holocene 18:1247–1257.Google Scholar
FAVIER, C., DE NAMUR, C. & DUBOIS, M. A. 2004. Forest progression models in littoral Congo, Central Atlantic Africa. Journal of Biogeography 31:1445–1461.Google Scholar
FRIIS, I. 1992. Forests types and forest trees of northeast tropical Africa. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London. 396 pp.Google Scholar
FRY, C. H. & KEITH, S. 1988. The birds of Africa. Volume VI. Academic Press, New York. 724 pp.Google Scholar
GEIGER, E. L., GOTSCH, S. G., DAMASCO, G., HARIDASAN, M., FRANCO, A. C. & HOFFMANN, W. A. 2011. Distinct roles of savanna and forest tree species in regeneration under fire suppression in a Brazilian savanna. Journal of Vegetation Science 22:312–321.Google Scholar
HARTZ, S. M., PINHEIRO, G. C., DE MENDONCA-LIMA, A. & DUARTE, L. D. S. 2012. The potential role of migratory birds in the expansion of Araucaria forest. Natureza & Conservacao 10:52–56.Google Scholar
HENNENBERG, K. J., GOETZE, D., MINDEN, V., TRAORE, D. & POREMBSKI, S. 2005. Size-class distribution of Anogeissus leiocarpus (Combretaceae) along forest–savanna ecotones in northern Ivory Coast. Journal of Tropical Ecology 21:273–281.Google Scholar
HERRERA, J. M. & GARCIA, G. 2009. The role of remnant trees in seed dispersal through the matrix: being alone is not always so sad. Biological Conservation 142:149–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HOFFMANN, W. A. 1996. The effects of fire and cover on seedling establishment in a neotropical savanna. Journal of Ecology 84:383–393.Google Scholar
KEITH, S., URBAN, E. K. & FRY, C. H. 1992. The birds of Africa. Volume IV. Academic Press, New York. 609 pp.Google Scholar
KINGDON, J. 1974. East African mammals. Volume IIB. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 704 pp.Google Scholar
LEHOUCK, V., SPANHOVE, T., DEMETER, S., GEMETER, N. E. & LENS, L. 2009. Complementary seed dispersal by three avian frugivores in a fragmented Afromontane forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 20:1110–1120.Google Scholar
LEHOUCK, V., SPANHOVE, T. & LENS, L. 2011. Avian fruit ingestion differentially facilitates seed germination of four fleshy-fruited plant species of an Afrotropical forest. Plant Ecology and Evolution 144:96–100.Google Scholar
MCDONNELL, M. J. & STILES, E. W. 1983. The structural complexity of old field vegetation and the recruitment of bird-dispersed plant species. Oecologia 56:109–116.Google Scholar
MILLS, M. S. L., VAZ PINTO, P. & DEAN, W. R. J. 2008. The avifauna of Cangandala National Park, Angola. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 15:113–120.Google Scholar
MITCHARD, E. T. A., SAATCHI, S. S., GERARD, F. F., LEWIS, S. L. & MEIR, P. 2009. Measuring woody encroachment along a forest–savanna boundary in central Africa. Earth Interactions 13:1–29.Google Scholar
PUYRAVAUD, J. P., DUFOUR, C. & ARAVAJY, S. 2003. Rain forest expansion mediated by successional processes in vegetation thickets in the Western Ghats of India. Journal of Biogeography 30:1067–1080.Google Scholar
RUSSELL-SMITH, J., STANTON, P. J., WHITEHEAD, P. J. & EDWARDS, A. 2004. Rain forest invasion of eucalypt-dominated woodland savanna, iron range, north-eastern Australia: I. Successional processes. Journal of Biogeography 31:1293–1303.Google Scholar
SCHLAWIN, J. R. & ZAHAWI, R. A. 2008. ‘Nucleating’ succession in recovering neotropical wet forests: the legacy of remnant trees. Journal of Vegetation Science 19:485–492.Google Scholar
SHARARN, G. J., SINCLAIR, A. R. E., TURKINGTON, R. & JACOB, A. L. 2009. The savanna tree Acacia polyacantha facilitates the establishment of riparian forests in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Tropical Ecology 25:31–40.Google Scholar
SLOCUM, M. G. 2001. How tree species differ as recruitment foci in a tropical pasture. Ecology 82:2547–2559.Google Scholar
SLOCUM, M. G. & HORVITZ, C. C. 2000. Seed arrival under different genera of trees in a neotropical pasture. Plant Ecology 149:51–62.Google Scholar
SUN, C., IVES, A. R., KRAEUTER, H. J. & MOERMOND, T. C. 1997. Effectiveness of three turacos as seed dispersers in a tropical montane forest. Oecologia 112:94–103.Google Scholar
TRAPNELL, C. G. 1959. Ecological results of woodland burning experiments in Northern Rhodesia. Journal of Ecology 47:129–168.Google Scholar
URBAN, E. K., FRY, C. H. & KEITH, S. 1997. The birds of Africa. Volume V. Academic Press, New York. 669 pp.Google Scholar
VINCENS, A., WILLIAMSON, D., THEVENON, F., TAIEB, M., BUCHET, G., DECOBERT, M. & THOUVENY, N. 2003. Pollen-based vegetation changes in southern Tanzania during the last 4200 years: climate change and/or human impact. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 198:321–334.Google Scholar
WHEELWRIGHT, N. T. 1985. Fruit size, gape width, and the diets of fruit eating birds. Ecology 66:808–818.Google Scholar
WHITE, F., DOWSETT-LEMAIRE, F. & CHAPMAN, J. D. 2001. Evergreen forest flora of Malawi. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London. 697 pp.Google Scholar
YARRANTON, G. & MORRISON, R. 1974. Spatial dynamics of a primary succession: nucleation. Journal of Ecology 62:417–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ZAHAWI, R. A., HOLL, K. D., COLE, R. J. & REID, J. L. 2013. Testing applied nucleation as a strategy to facilitate tropical forest recovery. Journal of Applied Ecology 50:88–96.Google Scholar