Relief, soil and tree community attributes jointly shape liana community structure and diversity in a Neotropical rainforest landscape

Abstract

Lianas are a fundamental component of tropical forests. Yet, their complex environmental interactions challenge our understanding of the variability in liana community attributes, which requires the integration of multiple environmental factors. We asked how relief, soil and tree community structure drive liana community assembly in a tropical rainforest of eastern Mexico. Using a geopedological approach, we established fifteen 0.5-ha plots across a complex landscape to census all lianas with basal diameter ≥ 1 cm. Additionally, we estimated slope, elevation, soil physicochemical properties, and tree community structural attributes, and related these factors to liana community structure and diversity. A principal component analysis showed that the main gradients of environmental variation (explained variance, PC1 = 37.3 %, PC2 = 19.6 %, PC3 = 14.6 %) are related to slope steepness, elevation, clay fraction, tree basal area, and the proportion of pioneer trees. By using these axes as explanatory variables in generalized linear models (GLMs), we found a significant relationship with liana abundance in the community, liana diameters and diversity. Moreover, the response of liana abundance to environmental heterogeneity varied among species. To advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying liana community assembly in highly diverse forests, it is necessary to jointly assess the effects of multiple factors involved in liana performance and to account for the differential responses of liana species to environmental heterogeneity.