Forest Structures, Composition, and Distribution on a Pacific Island, with Reference to Ecological Release and Speciation!
Pacific Science (1991), vol. 45, no. 1: 28-49 © 1991 by University of Hawaii Press. All rights reserved Forest Structures, Composition, and Distribution on a Pacific Island, with Reference to Ecological Release and Speciation! YOSHIKAZU SHIMIZU2 AND HIDEO TABATA 3 ABSTRACT: Native forest and scrub of Chichijima, the largest island in the Bonins, were classified into five types based on structural features: Elaeocarpus Ardisia mesic forest, 13-16 m high, dominated by Elaeocarpus photiniaefolius and Ardisia sieboldii; Pinus-Schima mesic forest, 12-16 m high, consisting of Schima mertensiana and an introduced pine , Pinus lutchuensis; Rhaphiolepis Livistonia dry forest, 2-6 m high, mainly occupied by Rhaphiolepis indica v. integerrima; Distylium-Schima dry forest, 3-8 m high, dominated by Distylium lepidotum and Schima mertensiana; and Distylium-Pouteria dry scrub, 0.3 1.5 m high, mainly composed of Distylium lepidotum. A vegetation map based on this classification was developed. Species composition and structural features of each type were analyzed in terms of habitat condition and mechanisms of regeneration. A group of species such as Pouteria obovata, Syzgygium buxifo lium, Hibiscus glaber, Rhaphiolepis indica v. integerrima, and Pandanus boninen sis, all with different growth forms from large trees to stunted shrubs, was subdominant in all vegetation types. Schima mertensiana , an endemic pioneer tree, occurred in both secondary forests and climax forests as a dominant canopy species and may be an indication of "ecological release," a characteristic of oceanic islands with poor floras and little competitive pressure. Some taxonomic groups (Callicarpa, Symplocos, Pittosporum, etc.) have speciated in the under story of Distylium-Schima dry forest and Distylium-Pouteria dry scrub.
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