title: Growth strategies differentiate the spatial patterns of 11 dipterocarp species coexisting in a Malaysian tropical rain forest.
abstract: We examined relationships between mortality rate, relative growth rate (RGR), and spatial patterns of three growth stages (small, medium, and large trees) for 11 dipterocarp species in the Pasoh 50-ha plot. Mortality rates for these species tended to be positively correlated with RGRs, although the correlation was significant only at the small-tree stage. Seven species with high growth and mortality rates exhibited peaks in spatial aggregation at small distances (<100 m) in small trees, but this aggregation disappeared in medium and large trees. In contrast, the other four species with low growth and mortality rates aggregated at large distances (>200 m) throughout the three growth stages in all but one species. Negative associations between different growth stages were observed only for the high-mortality species, suggesting density-dependent mortality. The high-mortality species showed habitat associations with topography, soil type, and the forest regeneration phase after gap formation, whereas the three low-mortality species only had associations with the forest regeneration phase. A randomization procedure revealed that these habitat associations explained little of their spatial aggregation. Our results suggest that the growth strategy has a large effect on the structuring of the spatial distribution of tree species through mortality processes.
authors.affiliation: KYOUSEI Science Center for Life and Nature, Nara Women's University, Kitauoya-nishimachi, Nara 630-8506, Japan. rsuzuki@cc.nara-wu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryo O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Md Noor
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Nur Supardi
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kachi
mesh_terms: D053958:Dipterocarpaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D008296:Malaysia; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014197:Trees; D014329:Tropical Climate