Abstract:

Lianas (woody vines) and the host trees were investigated in ten 20 m×50 m sample plots which were set respectively in valleys and hillslopes in the moist evergreen broadleaved forest in the Ailao mountains, SW China. In total, we recorded 402 climbing lianas DBH ≥1 cm, representing 23 species in 21 genera and 16 families, and 1 522 host trees DBH ≥10 cm, belonging to 47 species in 30 genera and 15 families. Compared to other subtropical forests, the lianas in the studied forest were rich in species, but low in abundance. The species richness, abundance and basal area of lianas were significantly higher in valley than in hillslope sites, whereas hosttrees did not differ significantly between the two sites. Lianas had a clumped distribution on trees, and there was a significant difference in the percentage of liana climbing among different host tree species (P ＜ 0.001), suggesting that lianas have some host selectivity. Those trees with smooth bark, such as Vaccinium duclouxii, Rhododendron leptothrium and Ilex gintungensis, were less likely to host lianas, while some trees with rough or slightly rough bark, such as Castanopsis wattii, Acer heptalobum, Symplocos sumuntia and S. ramosissima, were more likely to carry lianas than other tree species. The ratio of trees with lianas was higher in large sizeclass trees than in small sizeclasses. There were significant correlations between the DBH of stem twiners, hook climbers and the DBH of host trees (P ＜ 0.001), while there were no significant correlations between the DBH of root, tendril climbers and host trees (P ＞ 0.05).

Key words: lianas, species diversity, host relations, subtropical moist evergreen broadleaved forest, Ailao Mountains