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Epiphyte biomass and nutrient capital of a moist subtropical forest in north-eastern Taiwan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2002

Chia-Chun Hsu ,
Fu-Wen Horng  and
Chen-Meng Kuo
Chia-Chun Hsu
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Fu-Wen Horng
Affiliation:
Taiwan Forest Research Institute, 53 Nan-Hai Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Chen-Meng Kuo
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Abstract

A plot of 1200 m2 was selected to represent the average epiphyte abundance of a moist subtropical broadleaved forest at Fushan in north-eastern Taiwan. In this plot, all epiphytes of 18 sample trees with dbh > 5 cm were removed and weighed to estimate their biomass and nutrient content. We found that the biomass of epiphytes and their associated detrital matter in this plot was 3360 kg ha-1. The nutrient capital of the epiphytes (kg ha-1) was: N = 42.4, P = 1.9, Mg = 5.5, Na = 1.3, Ca = 14.5 and K = 28.9. Although the epiphytic biomass constituted less than 2% of the total above-ground biomass of the forest, the epiphytes comprised about 21-43% of the total foliage nutrient capital of the ecosystem. Because nutrients contained in epiphytes and tree foliage are more readily available to other organisms than those in woody components, epiphytes may play a greater role in ecosystem nutrient cycling than their relatively small biomass would suggest.

Keywords

BryophytesFushanhardwood forestpteridophytes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 18 , Issue 5 , September 2002 , pp. 659 - 670
Copyright
2002 Cambridge University Press

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