The Ecology of Lianas

One of the central questions in ecology is to explain the mechanisms that control the distribution of species across broad environmental gradients. We have been investigating this question using lianas, a taxonomically diverse group of woody plants that, like trees, provide a model for testing large conceptual questions in ecology.
In this seminar, I will present our latest findings on the mechanisms that appear to control the global distribution of lianas. The study of ecology, however, is more than the response of organisms to their environment (sensu Grinnell 1917), but also includes the effects of those organisms on their environment (sensu Elton 1927). Studying the ecology of organisms using this latter approach provides important information on the organism’s resource requirements, as well as their negative and positive effects on co-occurring species. Therefore, I will also present recent findings on the effects of lianas on their environment from an ongoing large-scale, long-term liana removal study in central Peninsula.