滇东南李仙江大黑山热带季节性雨林番龙眼群落研究

滇东南绿春县李仙江大黑山番龙眼群落以无患子科的番龙眼和苏木科的无忧花为乔木层优势种,外貌以单叶、纸质、全缘、渐尖、叶叶为主的常绿大、中高位芽植物组成为特征,层间木质藤本较丰富,属一种热带 北缘的热带季节性雨林类型,该群落物组成复杂,动态结构稳定,处于生长期。     

Age and Long-term Growth of Trees in an Old-growth Tropical Rain Forest, Based on Analyses of Tree Rings and 14C1

In an old‐growth tropical wet forest at La Selva, Costa Rica, we combined radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating and tree‐ring analysis to estimate the ages of large trees of canopy and emergent species spanning a broad range of wood densities and growth rates. We collected samples from the trunks of 29 fallen, dead individuals. We found that all eight sampled species formed visible growth rings, which varied considerably in distinctiveness. For five of the six species for which we combined wood anatomical studies with ¹⁴C‐dates (ring ages), the analyses demonstrated that growth rings were of annual formation. The oldest tree we found by direct ring counting was a Hymenolobium mesoamericanum Lima (Papilionaceae) specimen, with an age of ca. 530 years at the time of death. All other sampled individuals, including very large trees of slow‐growing species, had died at ages between 200 and 300 years. These results show that, even in an everwet tropical rain forest, tree growth of many species can be rhythmic, with an annual periodicity. This study thus raises the possibility of extending tree‐ring analyses throughout the tropical forest types lacking a strong dry season or annual flooding. Our findings and similar measurements from other tropical forests indicate that the maximum ages of tropical emergent trees are unlikely to be much greater than 600 years, and that these trees often die earlier from various natural causes.