Host associations of lianas in a south-east Queensland rain forest

Abstract

Lianas are abundant in tropical forests around the world, yet little is known about their ecology. In this study we report the results of a survey of ten common liana species on 27 host tree species in Cooloola National Park, Queensland, Australia. We found significant associations between some liana and tree species. Our results indicate that host tree diameter was important in explaining liana presence or absence. Host tree fruit type was correlated with the presence or absence of different liana types. Tendrillar and root-climbing lianas tended to occur most often on mid-sized, fleshy-fruited trees, and on smaller, non-fleshy-fruited trees. The presence of stem twining lianas tended to decrease with increasing tree diameter for both fleshy- and non-fleshy-fruited trees, although this effect was more pronounced for fleshy-fruited trees. In general, lianas were most prevalent on trees possessing intermediate levels of bark roughness and flakiness. Although we established associative patterns between liana species and these host characteristics, the model suggested that other unidentified variables may also be important in determining presence or absence of liana species.