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Strangler Fig Rooting Habits and Nutrient Relations in the Llanos of Venezuela

1989; Wiley; Volume: 76; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/2444534

1537-2197

Francis E. Putz, N. Michèle Holbrook,

Plant and soil sciences

American Journal of BotanyVolume 76, Issue 6 p. 781-788 Article STRANGLER FIG ROOTING HABITS AND NUTRIENT RELATIONS IN THE LLANOS OF VENEZUELA Francis E. Putz, Francis E. Putz Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611Search for more papers by this authorN. Michele Holbrook, N. Michele Holbrook Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611Search for more papers by this author Francis E. Putz, Francis E. Putz Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611Search for more papers by this authorN. Michele Holbrook, N. Michele Holbrook Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 June 1989 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1989.tb15056.xCitations: 40AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract The strangler figs, Ficus pertusa and F. trigonata, are abundant in the seasonally flooded palm savanna (llanos intermedio) near Calabozo, Venezuela. The most common host tree for the hemiepiphytic figs is the palm Copernicia tectorum; nearly half of the palms support either an epiphytic or a ground-rooted fig. During their epiphytic stage the figs are rooted behind the palms' marcescent leaf bases. Material trapped behind the leaf bases is higher in organic matter, nitrogen, magnesium, and potassium than soil from the ground near the palms. The suggestion that nutrient availability to epiphytes is high is supported by the observation that concentrations of several nutrients, including N, P, and K, are significantly higher in epiphytic leaves than in tree leaves. Figs retain access to the epiphytic medium by producing upwardly growing (apogeotropic) roots that remain attached in the host palm's crown long after the fig has become firmly rooted in the ground. Although upward growing roots are expected to be more important in nutrient than water uptake, there are no obvious differences in the xylem anatomy of upward and downward growing fig roots. Terrestrial roots of fig trees are generally infected with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae, but the epiphytic roots of the same individuals are not infected. Citing Literature Volume76, Issue6June 1989Pages 781-788 RelatedInformation