Data and code associated with: Gora, EM, DeFilippis, DA., Schnitzer, SA. 2024. Inferring drivers of liana mortality from associated patterns of tree death. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Lianas are major contributors to tropical forest dynamics, yet we know little about their mortality. Using overlapping censuses of the lianas and trees across a 50-ha stand of moist tropical forest, we contrasted community-wide patterns of liana mortality with relatively well-studied patterns of tree mortality to quantify patterns of liana death and identify contributing factors. Liana mortality rates were 172% higher than tree mortality rates, but species-level mortality rates of lianas were similar to trees with “fast” life history strategies and both growth forms exhibited similar spatial and size-dependent patterns. The mortality rates of liana saplings (<2.1 cm in diameter), which represent about 50% of liana individuals, decreased with increasing disturbance severity and remained consistently low during post-disturbance stand thinning. By contrast, larger liana individuals and trees of all sizes had elevated mortality rates in response to disturbance and their mortality rates decreased over time since disturbance. Within undisturbed forest patches, liana mortality rates increased with increasing soil fertility in a manner similar to trees. The distinct responses of liana saplings to disturbance appeared to distinguish liana mortality from that of trees, whereas similarities in their patterns of death suggest that there are common drivers of woody plant mortality.

File list, includes 14 files (3 .xlsx, 8 .R files, and 3 .RData files):

ReadMe.xlsx. - this contains definitions for all variables in the .xlsx data files.

habitat_chemistry_covariates.xlsx

individs_undisturbed.xlsx

disturbance_individuals_21mm_split_2021-4-28.R

mature_individuals_DBHbins_ov21mm.R

mature_individuals_DBHbins_un21mm.R

mortality_total_sizedependence_2022-3-21.R

mortality_total_sizedependence_2024-3-28.R

recovery_density_21mm_split.R

recovery_individuals_21mm_split.R

spatial_analyses_individuals.R

all.tree.data.RData

lianas_trim_updated.RData

quadrat_metrics.RData