Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (37)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zotz, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hietz, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zotz, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hietz, P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Zotz, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hietz, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 52, No. 364, pp. 2067-2078, November 1, 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press

Review Article

The physiological ecology of vascular epiphytes: current knowledge, open questions

Gerhard Zotz1,2,4 and Peter Hietz3

1 Lehrstuhl für Botanik II der Universität Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 3, D-97082 Würzburg, Germany
2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Apdo 2072, Panama
3 Institute of Botany, University of Agricultural Sciences, Gregor Mendel-Str. 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria

The current knowledge of the physiological ecology of vascular epiphytes is reviewed here with an emphasis on the most recent literature. It is argued that by far the most relevant abiotic constraint for growth and vegetative function of vascular epiphytes is water shortage, while other factors such as nutrient availability or irradiation, are generally of inferior importance. However, it is shown that the present understanding of epiphyte biology is still highly biased, both taxonomically and ecologically, and it is concluded that any generalizations are still preliminary. Future studies should include a much wider range of taxa and growing sites within the canopy to reach a better understanding how abiotic factors are limiting epiphyte growth and survival which, in turn, should affect epiphyte community composition. Finally, a more integrative approach to epiphyte biology is encouraged: physiological investigations should be balanced by studies of other possible constraints, for example, substrate instability, dispersal limitation, competition or herbivory.

Key words: Epiphytes, intraspecific variation, mortality, nutrient relations, phenotypic plasticity, photosynthesis, water relations.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
J. H. Cota-Sanchez and D. D. Abreu
Vivipary and offspring survival in the epiphytic cactus Epiphyllum phyllanthus (Cactaceae)
J. Exp. Bot., November 1, 2007; (2007) erm232v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
L. Abdala-Roberts, V. Parra-Tabla, and J. Navarro
Is Floral Longevity Influenced by Reproductive Costs and Pollination Success in Cohniella ascendens (Orchidaceae)?
Ann. Bot., November 1, 2007; 100(6): 1367 - 1371.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
G. ZOTZ and A. RICHTER
Changes in Carbohydrate and Nutrient Contents Throughout a Reproductive Cycle Indicate that Phosphorus is a Limiting Nutrient in the Epiphytic Bromeliad, Werauhia sanguinolenta
Ann. Bot., May 1, 2006; 97(5): 745 - 754.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Soil Sci.Home page
H. A. Enloe, R. C. Graham, and S. C. Sillett
Arboreal Histosols in Old-Growth Redwood Forest Canopies, Northern California
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., February 2, 2006; 70(2): 408 - 418.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
U. LUTTGE
Ecophysiology of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM)
Ann. Bot., June 1, 2004; 93(6): 629 - 652.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Bot.Home page
E. A. Graham and J. L. Andrade
Drought tolerance associated with vertical stratification of two co-occurring epiphytic bromeliads in a tropical dry forest
Am. J. Botany, May 1, 2004; 91(5): 699 - 706.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
G. ZOTZ and C. MIKONA
Photosynthetic Induction and Leaf Carbon Gain in the Tropical Understorey Epiphyte, Aspasia principissa
Ann. Bot., February 1, 2003; 91(3): 353 - 359.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
U. Luttge
CO2-concentrating: consequences in crassulacean acid metabolism
J. Exp. Bot., November 1, 2002; 53(378): 2131 - 2142.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.