PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #32: Plant Ecology I.
Wednesday, August 8, 2001. Presentation from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM. Exhibition Hall
149
Leaf lifespans, herbivory rates, and biomass allocation in Malaysian rain forest tree seedlings.
DELISSIO, LISA1,2, PRIMACK, RICHARD2, 1 2
ABSTRACT- The rain forest at Lambir Hills National Park in Northwest Borneo has a low rate of canopy gap creation, which is expected to have an impact on the biomass allocation patterns of shade-tolerant tree seedlings. Distribution and turnover of above-ground biomass over two years were assessed for 112 naturally occurring seedlings from five shade-tolerant tree species. Mean leaf lifespans of marked leaves were longer than expected, ranging from 3-11 years. Rates of herbivory were remarkably low, a median rate of 1-2% per year, relative to rates of herbivory reported elsewhere. Only one study species showed the predicted increased allocation to leaves in low light environments, as shown by hemispherical photography. The other species showed no such relationship. This study has demonstrated that these Southeast Asian tree seedlings have unique characteristics - low herbivory, long leaf lifespans, and stability of allocation to leaves - that distinguish them from tree seedlings elsewhere.
KEY WORDS: biomass allocation, Borneo, shade-tolerant tree seedlings, tropical rain forest