Patterns of liana diversity in tropical evergreen forests of peninsular India N. Parthasarathy * , S. Muthuramkumar, M. Sridhar Reddy Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605 014, India Abstract The quantitative liana inventories made in five peninsular Indian independent forest sites, distributed in the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and on the Coromandel coast, were examined particularly with reference to site altitude and forest stature. Liana diversity totaled 148 species in 101 genera of 47 families, in a total sample of 47 ha. The coefficient of variability in species distribution among the five sites was used to identify an oligarchy in liana species by taking 55 abundant species from the species pool. Ordination analysis, based on presence–absence as well as relative density of liana species indicated a geographical differentiation among the five sites in both the ordinations with respect to site altitude. Liana density (stems > 1:6 cm diameter) decreased with increasing altitude, whereas richness was highest at intermediate elevations. The mean liana density across the forest sites showed a weak negative correlation with forest stature. The lianas encountered in the five study sites fell under six climber types, of which twining was the chief climbing mechanism, both in terms of species diversity and density, and tendril climbers were more abundant in dry evergreen forests than in the wet evergreen forests. In liana diaspore dispersal modes, the majority of evergreen forest species possessed animal dispersal guilds, whereas wind-dispersal was prevalent in semi-evergreen and dry evergreen forests. # 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Climbing modes; Forest stature; Lianas; Ordination; Oligarchy; Site elevation 1. Introduction Lianas, the woody vines, are abundant and diverse group of plants in forests throughout the world, parti- cularly in the tropics (Schnitzer and Bongers, 2002). According to Gentry (1991a) lianas constitute 25% of the woody stem density and species diversity in tropical forests. Liana density and diversity increase dramatically with decreasing latitude, more so than most other plant growth forms, with the exception of epiphytic plants (Schnitzer and Bongers, 2002). Besides contributing to density and diversity, lianas play a significant role in forest structure and functional aspects of tropical forests (Putz and Mooney, 1991). Recent studies on lianas have focused on the significant contribution of this life-form to the overall density and species diversity of tropical forests (Gentry and Dodson, 1987), mechanisms by which lianas alter the tropical forest diversity and regeneration (Schnitzer and Carson, 2001), harming some species while promoting others (Schnitzer et al., 2000), and the significant con- tribution of lianas to whole-forest transpiration and carbon sequestration (Schnitzer and Bongers, 2002). The biological basis of the variation in liana species richness and density among tropical forests is poorly understood. Physical conditions and human activity both appear to be the important factors (Balfour and Bond, 1993). Lianas tend to be more frequent and larger at a lower elevation (Heaney and Proctor, 1990), Forest Ecology and Management 190 (2004) 15–31 * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91-413-2655994/5x326; fax: þ91-413-2655211. E-mail addresses: partha@flashmail.com, npartha2@rediffmail.com (N. Parthasarathy). 0378-1127/$ – see front matter # 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2003.10.003