Structure and composition of liana communities in a moist forest of northern Congo

In the central African region, few studies were conducted on the structure and composition of liana communities, and on their impact on forest dynamics. We led such a study in a moist forest located in the northern part of the Congo Republic. We inventoried all lianas with a diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm in 144 quadrats of 20x20 m2, located in four 9-ha permanent forest sample plots where forest dynamics has been followed during three years. We found that liana abundance and composition significantly vary with forest structure. Liana abundance decreases with the relative abundance of large trees and the mean wood density of tree stands, while it increases in canopy openings that are not dominated by giant herbs. Liana floristic composition and wood density mostly vary according to the local forest structure and the mean wood density of tree communities, with no floristic gradient at larger scale than the quadrat. Thus, liana abundance and floristic composition strongly depend on the local successional stage of the forest. At last, contrary to previous findings, we found no impact of lianas on forest dynamics, after accounting for the negative effect of giant herbs in canopy openings