TY - JOUR
T1 - General flowering in lowland mixed dipterocarp forests of south-east Asia
AU - Sakai, Shoko
N1 - This study is partly supported by grants from the Japanese Ministry of Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (#09NP1501), JST-CREST Program and JSPS Research Fellowships for Young Scientists for S. Sakai.
PY - 2002/2
Y1 - 2002/2
N2 - The general flowering (GF) events of forests in south-east Asia are perhaps the most spectacular phenomena in tropical biology. GF events occur at multiyear intervals. In GF, most dipterocarp species and many plants of other families come into flower and set fruit massively; these species and plants rarely flower except during GF events. GF is unique, because it can occur over thousands of kilometers and involve hundreds of plant species representing diverse families and lifeforms. It also involves strict mast fruiting. Satiation of generalist seed predators has been considered a primary force for GF. However, recent observations indicate that several selective agents rather than a single major factor may shape GF. In addition to the satiation of generalist predators, promotion of pollination could be one of the selective factors for GF, since synchronized flowering of many species causes an increase in pollinator activity through immigration and population growth. Although environmental prediction for better establishment of seedlings may also be involved in GF, no field data have been reported to support this idea. Long-term monitoring and further understanding of GF are essential for the conservation of this unique and diverse tropical forest in south-east Asia, especially in a period of global climatic change.
AB - The general flowering (GF) events of forests in south-east Asia are perhaps the most spectacular phenomena in tropical biology. GF events occur at multiyear intervals. In GF, most dipterocarp species and many plants of other families come into flower and set fruit massively; these species and plants rarely flower except during GF events. GF is unique, because it can occur over thousands of kilometers and involve hundreds of plant species representing diverse families and lifeforms. It also involves strict mast fruiting. Satiation of generalist seed predators has been considered a primary force for GF. However, recent observations indicate that several selective agents rather than a single major factor may shape GF. In addition to the satiation of generalist predators, promotion of pollination could be one of the selective factors for GF, since synchronized flowering of many species causes an increase in pollinator activity through immigration and population growth. Although environmental prediction for better establishment of seedlings may also be involved in GF, no field data have been reported to support this idea. Long-term monitoring and further understanding of GF are essential for the conservation of this unique and diverse tropical forest in south-east Asia, especially in a period of global climatic change.
KW - Dipterocarpaceae
KW - environmental prediction
KW - masting
KW - plant reproductive phenology
KW - predator satiation
KW - promotion of pollinatipromotion of pollination
KW - tropical forest
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0036486585&partnerID=MN8TOARS
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0024-4066
VL - 75
SP - 233
EP - 247
JO - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
JF - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
IS - 2
ER -