Liana abundance in three tropical rain forests of Western Uganda

All lianas rooted in 1-ha plots of 20 x 500 m in subjectively selected sites of intact forest. Hemiepiphytes and stranglers were excluded. Lianas measured at 1.3 m from the base. An individual was considered to be an independently climbing stem. Branches of lianas that fell to the ground, rooted, and then grew upward were tallied as separate individuals (Me: SO numbers are inflated). Trellises rooted in the plot and supporting lianas were measured for dbh. Trellises rooted outside the plot were excluded. Abundance of lianas \u3e= 1 cm dbh ranged between 155 and 743 individuals/ha for the six forest sites. No clear trend is detectable among liana abundance in the study forest. The plot that had the lowest abundance of lianas, also had the largest individual liana (15.25 cm). Liana abundance recorded in Ugandan forests is generally low compared to that recorded in eight west African sites by Gentry (1988) who found an average of 106 lianas \u3e 2.5 cm per 0.1 ha