Reader Comments
Post a new comment on this article
Post Your Discussion Comment
Please follow our guidelines for comments and review our competing interests policy. Comments that do not conform to our guidelines will be promptly removed and the user account disabled. The following must be avoided:
- Remarks that could be interpreted as allegations of misconduct
- Unsupported assertions or statements
- Inflammatory or insulting language
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to flag this posting; we review flagged postings on a regular basis.
closeabout vines in Yasuní
Posted by hgromero on 26 Jul 2010 at 22:27 GMT
138 lianas [92]
http://plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008767#article1.body1.sec2.sec1.p11
I think the way the authors have described liana diversity values for Yasuní is a little confusing, perhaps because they misread the publications on the subject. The largest number of liana species reported from inventory data is not the 138 species+morphospecies of Nabe-Nielsen (2001) (in 606 individuals), but Burnham (2002) who reported 311 species+morphospecies of lianas (in 4348 liana stems >=1 cm in diameter), which is the largest inventory of lianas in the Yasuní *area* till today (including samples from the contiguous Waorani reserve, which are colloquially and locally recognized as "Yasuni" as well). The value of near 500 species for regional (gamma) liana diversity (at the end of the paragraph) is probably (Burnham 2002), but note that it does not include herbaceous vines (not included in this publication's analyses), which may perhaps add one or two hundred species.
Just for the record, Romero-Saltos et al.
(2001) (unfortunately not included in this "first comprehensive synthesis of biodiversity data for Yasuní", even though at least two of the authors knew about the publication existence) found 173 species of lianas (in 747 individuals with diameter >=2.5 cm) in thirty 0.1 ha plots [20x50 m] established in terra firme, floodplain and swamp forests. It is actually one of the few published studies (if not the only one?) on trees and lianas in Yasuní that have sampled swamp forest.
Literature cited:
Burnham, R. 2002. Dominance, diversity and distribution of lianas in Yasuni, Ecuador: who is on top? Journal of Tropical Ecology 18: 845–864.
Nabe-Nielsen, J. 2001. Diversity and distribution of lianas in a Neotropical rain forest, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17: 1–19.
Romero-Saltos, H., R. Valencia, and M. J. Macía. 2001. Patrones de diversidad, distribución y rareza de plantas leñosas en el Parque Nacional Yasuní y la Reserva Étnica Huaorani, Amazonía ecuatoriana. In: J. F. Duivenvoorden, H. Balslev, J. Cavelier, C. Grández, H. Tuomisto and R. Valencia (eds.). Evaluación de recursos vegetales no maderables en la Amazonía noroccidental, pp. 131–162. IBED, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam.
(AVAILABLE from www.bio.miami.edu/hugo)