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    • Fulltext

       

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      Permanent link:
      https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/031/05/0651-0669

    • Keywords

       

      Diameter growth; environmental variability; growth strategy; rainfall; tropical dry forest

    • Abstract

       

      Tree diameter growth is sensitive to environmental fluctuations and tropical dry forests experience high seasonal and inter-annual environmental variation. Tree growth rates in a large permanent plot at Mudumalai, southern India, were examined for the influences of rainfall and three intrinsic factors (size, species and growth form) during three 4-year intervals over the period 1988–2000.

      Most trees had lowest growth during the second interval when rainfall was lowest, and skewness and kurtosis of growth distributions were reduced during this interval. Tree diameter generally explained <10% of growth variation and had less influence on growth than species identity or time interval. Intraspecific variation was high, yet species identity accounted for up to 16% of growth variation in the community. There were no consistent differences between canopy and understory tree growth rates; however, a few subgroups of species may potentially represent canopy and understory growth guilds. Environmentally-induced temporal variations in growth generally did not reduce the odds of subsequent survival.

      Growth rates appear to be strongly influenced by species identity and environmental variability in the Mudumalai dry forest. Understanding and predicting vegetation dynamics in the dry tropics thus also requires information on temporal variability in local climate.

    • Author Affiliations

       

      Cheryl D Nath1 H S Dattaraja1 H S Suresh1 N V Joshi1 R Sukumar1

      1. Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012, India

    • Dates

       
      Published
      December 2006
      Manuscript received
      17 April 2006
      Accepted
      14 October 2006

  • Journal of Biosciences | News

      Forthcoming Special issue.


    • To trigger further research on plant mitochondria, the Journal of Biosciences is bringing out a special issue titled "Plant Mitochondria: Properties and Interactions with Other Organelles".


      Plant mitochondria are quite distinct and have unique features, such as a cyanide-insensitive alternate pathway. They also interact with chloroplasts to optimize photosynthetic carbon assimilation.


      Submissions are welcome until 30 July 2023. The contributions can be original articles, short communications, reviews, or mini-reviews on any topic related to plant mitochondria.


      Authors can submit their articles online at https://www.editorialmanager.com/jbsc/default2.aspx

      Posted on April 12, 2023
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