In Malaysian forests, lianas, woody climbing plants, are more likely to infest smaller trees and prevent them from reaching their full capacity, which may have consequences for climate change.
This is supported by recent research from the University of Nottingham conducted in Malaysia’s Danum Valley and released today in the Journal of Ecology.
Our view of tropical forests and their function in the global carbon cycle is altered by the study’s findings, which differ from earlier liana research in Neotropical forests (in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America).
In tropical rainforests, where they fiercely struggle with trees for water, nutrients, and light, lianas are frequently encountered. This has been shown to retard tree growth and even cause tree death in earlier studies. Lianas can consequently significantly limit the uptake and storage of carbon in tropical forests.
This has far-reaching effects on global warming since we rely on tropical forests to absorb some of our carbon dioxide emissions. Experts need to learn where and why lianas are growing in order to better comprehend the issue they present and the threat they pose to the global carbon cycle.
The study is the first of its kind to be conducted under the canopy of a palaeotropical forest (in tropical areas of Africa and Asia). To determine the extent of liana coverage, the team conducted ground surveys and used a drone and a laser scanner to produce a 3D model of the area.
Prior to joining the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, Dr. Catherine Waite directed the study while at the University of Nottingham. Research Fellow Dr. Waite for the “Forest Restoration and Climate Experiment” stated: “In order to reduce climate change, tropical forests are a crucial and natural system for capturing and storing carbon.” The ability of forests to do this is definitely threatened by lianas, so it’s critical that we comprehend how lianas spread and behave in order to identify potential future growth factors.
The forests of the Paleotropics, particularly those in Southeast Asia, haven’t gotten much attention up to this point. However, given that Southeast Asian forests frequently contain larger trees and have substantially more aboveground biomass than Neotropical forests, studies of lianas in this region are particularly significant.
For instance, forests in Southeast Asia generate almost 50% more wood than those in the Amazon. As a result, palaeotropical trees may contribute more to the global carbon balance and, consequently, to the mitigation of climate change since they store and remove more carbon from the atmosphere.
Dr. Waite adds: “In contrast to well-established Neotropical findings, we found that taller trees were less frequently and less extensively affected by lianas than shorter trees.” This implies a fundamental distinction between Southeast Asian and Neotropical forests. “Since the majority of liana studies have concentrated on the Neotropics, this emphasizes the need for additional research in other palaeotropical areas to elucidate potential differences and help us comprehend how liana impacts tropical forest ecology, carbon capture and storage, and ultimately climate change.”
The co-author of the study and Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, Dr. Geertje van der Heijden, stated “Neotropical studies have demonstrated that the presence of lianas in tropical forests has significant and wide-ranging effects on the world’s carbon cycle and, consequently, on the potential of tropical forests to slow down climate change.” Making more accurate forecasts regarding their effects on tropical forests worldwide consequently benefits from knowing more about which trees they infest.
This study advances our understanding of which forest regions are most affected by lianas, why, and how this may change in the future. Understanding probable global carbon cycle effects and upcoming climate change requires knowledge of this information.
The study’s findings, which were released on the second day of COP27, show how crucial climate change is for the entire world. We also need more knowledge to help us restore natural habitats, as highlighted by the current UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, 2021–2030. The study helps with this by revealing the locations of liana growth and the areas where those locations have the most significant effects. This will help with focused, efficient forest management, enabling improved carbon storage in tropical forests in the future.
