TropicalTropical ecologyecology WBNZWBNZ --849849
Ryszard Laskowski Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University www.eko.uj.edu.pl/laskowski
1.1. AboutAbout thethe ccourseourse 2.2. LectureLecture #1:#1: IntroductionIntroduction toto tropicaltropical ecologecolog yy 2/61 CourseCourse organizationorganization
Place:Place: InstituteInstitute ofof EnvironmentalEnvironmental Sciences;Sciences; RoomRoom 1.1.11.1.1 Time:Time: Friday,Friday, 14:0014:00 –– 17:0017:00 (15(15 LL ++ 1515 S)S) 9 x 3 h (lectures & conversations) 1 seminar (3 h) Teachers:Teachers: R.R. Laskowski,Laskowski, J.J. Weiner,Weiner, T.T. Pyrcz,Pyrcz, P.P. Koteja,Koteja, W.W. FiaFia łłkowskikowski EvaluationEvaluation :: finalfinal examexam (5(5 --66 openopen questions):questions): 80%80% activeactive participationparticipation inin classes:classes: 20%20% 3/61 TeachersTeachers ’’ emailsemails
[email protected]@uj.edu.pl [email protected]@uj.edu.pl [email protected]@uj.edu.pl [email protected]@uj.edu.pl wojciech.fialkowskiwojciech.fialkowski @[email protected] 4/61 ReadingReading Articles and textbooks BooksBooks fromfrom thethe LibraryLibrary ofof available at the course website NaturalNatural SciencesSciences !! 5/61 SupplementarySupplementary readingreading inin PolishPolish 6/61
ATTENTION: The ‘Tropical Ecology ’ course (WBNZ 849) is the prerequisite for ‘Tropical Ecology – Field Course ’ (WBNZ 850)
Syllabus : Introduction to tropical ecology: tropical biomes – geographical distribution and characteristics; destruction and protection of tropical ecosystems. Equatorial rainforests – the most diverse biome on Earth. Geographical distribution patterns of insects in tropical mountains. Mimicry. Termites and ants – the two groups of special importance in tropical ecosystems; prey -predator interactions. Adaptations in animals to hot deserts: water balance, behavioral and physiological mechanisms for obtaining and saving water; behavioral and physiological thermoregulation; life histo ries. Biology of coral reefs and mangroves: environmental conditions and biodiversity. IntroductionIntroduction toto tropicaltropical ecologyecology 8/61 WhereWhere areare tropics?tropics?
OriginOrigin ofof thethe term:term: fromfrom GreekGreek τρόποςτρόπος ((tropostropos )) == turnturn (the(the sunsun appearsappears toto "turn"turn back"back" atat thethe solstices)solstices) AreaArea betweenbetween thethe TropicTropic ofof CancerCancer (23(23 o3030 ’’N)N) andand thethe TropicTropic ofof CapricornCapricorn (23(23 o3030 ’’S)S) AreaArea ofof thethe EarthEarth wherewhere thethe SunSun isis 9090 o aboveabove thethe horizonhorizon atat leastleast onceonce everyevery yearyear == tropicaltropical zonezone == torridtorrid zonezone 9/61 WhereWhere areare thethe tropicstropics located?located? TheThe simplestsimplest possiblepossible answer:answer:
Area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn 10/61 WhyWhy shouldshould wewe studystudy tropicaltropical ecology?ecology?
Species richness on Earth (per ca. 9274 km 2 ≈ 1°ₓ1°)
Grenyer, R. et al. 2006. Global distribution and conservation of rare and threatened vertebrates. Nature 444: 93-96. (pdf available for course participants at the course web page) 11/61 SpeciesSpecies richnessrichness inin tropicstropics
TaxonomicTaxonomic PolandPoland UgandaUganda groupgroup ((312312 kmkm 2)) ((241241 kmkm 2)) vascularvascular plantsplants 27002700 49004900
mammalsmammals 109109 330330
birdsbirds 446446 10611061
reptilesreptiles 99 165165
amphibiansamphibians 1818 5252
Sources: Wikipedia; http://www.africapedia.com; EarthTrends (http://www.vub.ac.be/klimostoolkit/sites/default/files/documents/uganda_bd.pdf) 12/61 BiodiversityBiodiversity hotspotshotspots onon EarthEarth
„As many as 44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth.”
Myers, N. et al. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853-858. (pdf available for course participants at the course web page) 13/61 TropicalTropical climatesclimates accordingaccording toto WladimirWladimir KKööppenppen 14/61 TropicalTropical climatesclimates accordingaccording toto KKööppenppen
GroupGroup A:A: TropicalTropical (( megathermalmegathermal )) climatesclimates AfAf :: TropicalTropical rainforestrainforest climateclimate (~(~ 55 -- 1010 o ofof thethe equator;equator; inin coastalcoastal areasareas cancan extendextend toto 2525 o;; nono seasonality)seasonality) == hhyygromegathermalgromegathermal AmAm :: TropicalTropical monsoonmonsoon climateclimate (further(further fromfrom thethe equator;equator; twotwo seasonsseasons –– rainrain andand dry)dry) AwAw :: TropicalTropical savannasavanna climateclimate (two(two seasons,seasons, wetwet andand drydry –– veryvery clearclear andand pronounced)pronounced) GroupGroup B:B: DryDry climatesclimates (arid(arid andand semiarid)semiarid) OnlyOnly partlypartly belongbelong toto tropicstropics 15/61 1.1. TropicalTropical rainforestsrainforests
Climatic diagram for Belem (Brazil) 16/61 TropicalTropical rainforests:rainforests: geographicalgeographical distributiondistribution around equator (ca. 10 oS – 10 oN)
10 oN
10 oS 17/61 TropicalTropical rainforests:rainforests: characteristicscharacteristics
Very high annual rainfall: at least 1700 – 2000 mm Average annual temperature: 27 – 30 oC High rate of biogeochemical cycles Soils: low in organic matter and nutrients due to intensive weathering ( laterization oxisols ) Four -layer forests : ( 1) emergent layer – single trees above the canopy (60 -70 m); ( 2) canopy layer (30 -45 m); (3) understory layer (only ca. 5% of light!); ( 4) forest floor (only ca. 2% of light) Richness of epiphytes and lianas Extreme species richness: approx. 2/3 of all plant and animal species living on Earth (at only 6% of Earth surface!) 18/61 TropicalTropical rainforests:rainforests: typestypes
Lowland equatorial evergreen rainforests annual precipitation above 2000 mm Amazon, Orinoco and Congo basins, Indonesia, New Guinea Wet broadleaf forests partly evergreen high annual rainfall, warm and wet summer and cooler and dryer winter Central America, Caribbean, West Africa, India, Indochina Montane cloud forests cooler mountain climate, high rainfall, low cloud cover tropical and subtropical mountains Floodplain forests environmental conditions similar to lowland evergreen forests but in poorly drained areas flooding Borneo, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Indochina 19/61 NutrientNutrient turnoverturnover raterate
Average retention time of dead organic matter and nutrients in forest litter: boreal forest (taiga), temperate broadleaf forest, and equatorial rainforest (time in years ) OrganicOrganic BiomeBiome NN PP KK CaCa MgMg mattermatter TaigaTaiga 353353 230230 324324 9494 149149 455455 TemperateTemperate 44 55..55 55..88 11..33 33..00 33..44 forestforest RainforestRainforest 00..44 22 11..66 00..77 11..55 11..11
Schlesinger 1991 20/61 ProductivityProductivity andand carboncarbon accumulationaccumulation
Average NPP of selected biomes ( kg x m -2 x year -1), carbon accumulation rate ( g x m -2 x year -1) and C(biomass) /C(soil)
CC accumulationaccumulation BiomeBiome ProductivityProductivity C(bC(b ))//C(C( ss)) raterate TaigaTaiga 0.80.8 11.711.7 –– 15.315.3 0.550.55 TemperateTemperate 1.21.2 0.70.7 –– 5.15.1 1.131.13 forestforest RainforestRainforest 2.22.2 2.32.3 –– 2.52.5 1.681.68
Lieth & Whittaker 1975, Schlesinger 1991 21/61 MainMain carboncarbon poolspools inin primevalprimeval tropicaltropical rainforestsrainforests AccumulatedAccumulated carboncarbon PartPart ofof thethe ecosystemecosystem (t(t C/ha)C/ha) AliveAlive plantsplants (above(above andand 210210 underground)underground)
DeadDead treestrees andand litterlitter 1010
SoilSoil 100100
TOTAL:TOTAL: 320320
After Jonathan Adams, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 22/61 TropicalTropical rainforestrainforest soilssoils 23/61 FerrasolsFerrasols (FAO)(FAO) == OxisolsOxisols (USDA):(USDA): locationlocation andand pedogenesispedogenesis
EarlierEarlier calledcalled lateriteslaterites ;; acc.acc. toto FAOFAO -- ferrasolsferrasols Definition:Definition: soilssoils containingcontaining inin thethe wholewhole profileprofile ≤≤10%10% leachableleachable materialsmaterials andand <10%<10% basebase saturation;saturation; highhigh contentcontent ofof FeFe andand AlAl oxidesoxides Location:Location: ca.ca. 1/31/3 ooff thethe Earth'sEarth's continentalcontinental landland area,area, mostlymostly 1515 --2525 oSS –– 1515 --2525 o NN PedogenesisPedogenesis –– tropicaltropical weatheringweathering (( laterizationlaterization ):):
high precipitation + CO 2 chemical weathering and leaching of humic materials and minerals from the soil profile only stable Fe i Al oxides remain rusty -red color 24/61 LaterizationLaterization
+ H+ H+ H AlO x FeO x
FeO SiO 2 ++ x + Ca Mg ++ Na + K SiO AlO x FeO x 2 25/61 FerrasolsFerrasols ((OxisolsOxisols )) –– KenyaKenya 26/61 LaterizationLaterization –– consequences:consequences:
LeachingLeaching ofof virtuallyvirtually allall organicorganic mattermatter andand nutrientsnutrients soilssoils veryvery poorpoor inin nutrientsnutrients veryvery smallsmall reservoirsreservoirs ofof soilsoil organicorganic mattermatter plantsplants havehave toto useuse (re(re --cycle)cycle) allall mineralsminerals releasedreleased fromfrom decomposingdecomposing litterlitter veryvery efficientlyefficiently nono nutrientnutrient supplysupply afterafter forestforest destructiondestruction andand removalremoval ofof plantsplants soilssoils becomebecome infertileinfertile veryvery quicklyquickly difficultdifficult forestforest regenerationregeneration primevalprimeval forestsforests replacedreplaced withwith secondarysecondary ecosystemsecosystems (secondary(secondary forestsforests ofof bushes)bushes) 27/61 FourFour --layerlayer forestforest structurestructure EmergentEmergent layer:layer: 60 -70 m high broadleaf trees birds, monkeys, bats, butterflies CanopyCanopy layerlayer 30 -45 m high, very dense layer toucans, snakes, treefrogs , beetles UnderstoryUnderstory layerlayer 3-4 m high, little sunshine treefrogs , beetles, leopards/jaguars ForestForest floorfloor very dark few plants anteaters, snakes, frogs, beetles http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/whlayers.html 28/61 FourFour --layerlayer forestforest structurestructure 29/61 DiversityDiversity ofof lifelife forms:forms: epiphytesepiphytes andand vinesvines 30/61 ExtremeExtreme speciesspecies richnessrichness 31/61 SpeciesSpecies richnessrichness ofof tropicaltropical rainforestsrainforests AtAt 1010 haha ofof forestforest inin BorneoBorneo –– upup toto 700700 treetree speciesspecies asas manymany asas inin wholewhole N.N. America!America! AtAt 11 PeruvianPeruvian treetree –– 4343 antant speciesspecies asas manymany asas inin wholewhole UK!UK! Ca.Ca. 30003000 fishfish speciesspecies inin thethe AmazonAmazon riverriver –– moremore thanthan inin wholewhole NorthNorth AtlanticAtlantic oceanocean !! SpeciesSpecies numbersnumbers atat 1515 kmkm 2 inin CostaCosta Rica:Rica: mammalsmammals –– 117117 ((inin wholewhole PolandPoland 105105 ));; birdsbirds –– 410410 ((435435 ));; reptilesreptiles –– 8686 ((99));; amphibiansamphibians –– 4343 ((1818 ));; mothsmoths –– 40004000 ((12001200 ));; vascularvascular plantsplants –– 16681668 ((27002700 )) 32/61 TropicalTropical rainforests:rainforests: montanemontane cloudcloud forestsforests (fog(fog forest)forest)
SpecificSpecific typetype ofof tropicaltropical rainforests:rainforests: area:area: tropicaltropical mountainsmountains environmentalenvironmental conditions:conditions: persistentpersistent oror frequentfrequent lowlow --levellevel cloudcloud covercover andand fogfog reductionreduction ofof directdirect radiationradiation andand evapotranspiration,evapotranspiration, veryvery highhigh humidityhumidity ecosystemecosystem characteristics:characteristics: particularlyparticularly richrich inin epiphytesepiphytes (mosses,(mosses, ferns,ferns, orchids,orchids, etc.)etc.) 33/61 MontaneMontane cloudcloud forestsforests 34/61 2.2. TropicalTropical andand subtropicalsubtropical seasonalseasonal drydry broadleafbroadleaf forestsforests (monsoon(monsoon forests)forests)
Climatic diagram for Calcutta (India) 35/61 MonsoonMonsoon forests:forests: geographicalgeographical distributiondistribution Two belts N and S from equatorial rainforests: ca. 10 o – 20 oN & 10 o – 20 oS 36/61 MonsoonMonsoon forests:forests: characteristicscharacteristics
HighHigh averageaverage annualannual temperaturetemperature HighHigh annualannual rainfallrainfall (( ~1000~1000 –– 20002000 mm/yearmm/year )) ClearlyClearly pronounced,pronounced, longlong (few(few months)months) drydry seasonseason most trees shed leave s in dry season; plants accumulating water ; rich understory layer (plenty of sunlight in dry season) three layers : ( 1) tree canopy; ( 2) understory; ( 3) forest floor 37/61 MainMain carboncarbon poolspools inin monsoonmonsoon forestsforests AccumulatedAccumulated carboncarbon EcosystemEcosystem partpart (t(t C/ha)C/ha) AliveAlive plantsplants (above(above -- andand 150150 underground)underground)
DeadDead treestrees andand litterlitter 1010
SoilSoil 100100
TOTAL:TOTAL: 260260
After Jonathan Adams, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 38/61 MonsoonMonsoon forestforest inin drydry seasonseason
Monsoon forest in Trinidad 39/61 MonsoonMonsoon forests:forests: characteristiccharacteristic treetree speciesspecies
Teak tree (Tectona sp. )
Ebony tree ( Diospyros sp. ) 40/61 TropicalTropical grasslandsgrasslands
Climatic diagram for Nairobi (Kenya) 41/61 TropicalTropical grasslandsgrasslands inin thethe worldworld
Africa:Africa: Savannah , e.g. Serengeti, Masai Mara – high grasses with scattered acacia trees; large herbivores (40 ungulate species) and carnivores SouthSouth America:America: Llanos in Venezuela (Orinoco basin) – flooded every year, with gallery forests Cerrado in Brazil – grassland covered with forest of different density and gallery forests; high plant diversity Australia:Australia: Savannah (Northern Australia) – grassland with scattered eucalyptus trees; herbivores – kangaroos and man -introduced ungulates 42/61 SavannahSavannah
AverageAverage annualannual precipitationprecipitation 10001000 --15001500 mmmm ((KKööppenppen ’’ss AwAw climate)climate) Distinct,Distinct, longlong drydry seasonseason ;; o Temperature:Temperature: 2020 --3030 CC NPP:NPP: ca.ca. 00 ..77 kgkg mm -2 yearyear -1 PlantsPlants –– adaptationsadaptations toto drydry season:season: deepdeep taptap roots,roots, thickthick bark,bark, sheddingshedding leaves,leaves, storagestorage organsorgans (mostly(mostly underground)underground) toto herbivores:herbivores: solidsolid sharpsharp leaves,leaves, bitterbitter taste,taste, growinggrowing fromfrom beneath)beneath) 43/61 SavannahSavannah soilssoils
O
leaching silica (SiO 2) Lateritic during rain season layer
A/B Mixed A and B layers thickness 1-2 m Silica
Weathering capillary uptake from C ground water during dry season Bedrock 44/61 TropicalTropical grasslandsgrasslands 45/61 MainMain carboncarbon poolspools inin tropicaltropical savannahsavannah AccumulatedAccumulated carboncarbon EcosystemEcosystem partpart (t(t C/ha)C/ha) AliveAlive plantsplants (above(above -- andand 3535 underground)underground)
DeadDead treestrees andand litterlitter 00
SoilSoil 5555
TOTAL:TOTAL: 9090
After Jonathan Adams, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 46/61 MainMain carboncarbon poolspools inin tropicaltropical grasslandsgrasslands besidesbesides savannahsavannah
AccumulatedAccumulated carboncarbon EcosystemEcosystem partpart (t(t C/ha)C/ha) AliveAlive plantsplants (above(above -- andand 1212 underground)underground)
DeadDead treestrees andand litterlitter 00
SoilSoil 4242
TOTAL:TOTAL: 5454
After Jonathan Adams, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 47/61 TropicalTropical desertsdeserts
Climatic diagram for Cairo (Egypt) 48/61 DesertDesert soilssoils –– aridisolsaridisols (USDA)(USDA) (FAO: gypsisols , calcisols , solonchaks , solonetzes )
Main process: CaCO 3 and MgCO 3 accumulation development of calcareous layer
rain + atmospheric CO 2 weak carbonic acid dissolving Ca and Mg salts from surface minerals transport to deeper soil layers evaporation increasing concentration of dissolved minerals solidification of salts from the solution concentrations of salts toxic to Desert soil profile: clearly plants and animals seen calcareous layer water -impermeable carbonate layer 49/61 MainMain carboncarbon poolspools inin tropicaltropical desertsdeserts
AccumulatedAccumulated carboncarbon EcosystemEcosystem partpart (t(t C/ha)C/ha) AliveAlive plantsplants (above(above -- andand 11 underground)underground)
DeadDead plantsplants andand litterlitter 00
SoilSoil 00
TOTAL:TOTAL: 11
After Jonathan Adams, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 50/61 MountainMountain ss changechange everythingeverything Elevation Elevation (m.a.s.l.)
Latitude 51/61 MountainsMountains changechange everything:everything: correlationcorrelation betweenbetween horizontalhorizontal andand verticalvertical distributiondistribution ofof plantsplants
J. Korna ś and A. Medwecka-Korna ś – Geografia ro ślin (2002) 52/61 VerticalVertical distributiondistribution ofof plantsplants inin AfricanAfrican andand SouthSouth AmericanAmerican mountainsmountains
J. Korna ś and A. Medwecka-Korna ś – Geografia ro ślin (2002) 53/61 SpeciesSpecies richnessrichness decreasesdecreases withwith altitudealtitude . Nature 405:. Nature 220-227.
Relationship between the number of species and altitude: bats in Manu Biosphere Reserves (Peru) Gaston, K. J. 2000. Global patterns in biodiversity in patterns Global 2000. J. K. Gaston, 54/61 EcofloristicEcofloristic zoneszones inin mountainsmountains AlpineAlpine :: ~3800~3800 –– ~4500~4500 mm high mountain steppe: Afro -alpine , paramo , puna SubalpineSubalpine :: ~3400~3400 –– 38003800 mm few lianas and vascular epiphytes, rich moss and lichen flora; characteristic groups: Ericaceae , Brunelliaceae , Asteraceae ... ‘elf forests ’ at ridges MontaneMontane :: ~2400~2400 –– 34003400 mm short trees, even fewer species; few lianas, still many epiphytes; can be seasonal SubmontaneSubmontane :: ~1000~1000 –– 24002400 mm forest similar to that at lower elevation but with fewer species; trees ca. 25 -30 m 55/61 TropicalTropical mountainmountain zoneszones inin AA ndesndes :: VenezuelaVenezuela
„Tierra fria ” Paramo
„Tierra fria ” Upper montane forest
„Tierra templada ” Lower montane forest 56/61 TropicalTropical mountainmountain zoneszones inin Africa:Africa: KilimanjaroKilimanjaro
Alpine
Montane
Submontane 57/61 OtherOther tropicaltropical plantplant communitiescommunities
MangrovesMangroves areaarea ss:: shallow,shallow, muddymuddy seasea coasts;coasts; structure:structure: treestrees oror shrubs,shrubs, veryvery fewfew oror eveneven justjust oneone speciesspecies ;; nono understoryunderstory andand forestforest floorfloor ;; fewfew epiphytesepiphytes andand lianaslianas GalleryGallery forestsforests areaarea ss:: alongalong valleysvalleys withwith surfacesurface oror undergroundunderground streamsstreams structure:structure: treestrees oror bushesbushes ofof differentdifferent densitydensity ;; possiblepossible lianas,lianas, fewfew epiphytesepiphytes 58/61 MangrovesMangroves
Caribbean coast, Venezuela 59/61 GalleryGallery forestsforests
Gran Sabana, Venezuela 60/61 GalleryGallery forestsforests
Gran Sabana, Venezuela 61/61
Topics for the seminar:
1)Tropical diseases: most important diseases, prevention & problems
2) Is it possible to restore destroyed tropical rainforests? Área de Conservación Guanacaste – a case study in Costa Rica.
3) ...? ...