Abstract
Epiphyte functional groups (alectorioid lichens, cyanolichens, other lichens, and bryophytes) were sampled in nine old-growth, canopy-emergent, Pseudotsuga menziesii trees along a riparian corridor in the Wind River Experimental Forest, Washington State, U.S.A., with the objective of determining epiphyte abundance and its relationship to crown structure. An additional objective was to develop a sampling design that reasonably captured the variation in epiphyte distribution so that total biomass could be estimated for an individual large tree, a design efficient enough to make description economically and logistically possible. Trees ranged in height from 51 to 66 meters and averaged 83 live and 79 dead limbs in a crown length of 40 meters. Diameter at breast height was a useful estimator of tree crown structural complexity. Epiphytes averaged 27.1 kg/tree, with alectorioid lichens (19.3 kg/tree) dominating the assemblages, followed by other lichens (3.3 kg/tree), bryophytes (2.6 kg/tree) and cyanolichens (1.9 kg/tree). The foliage region had the highest biomass of lichens (16.4 kg/tree), followed by the branches (8 kg/tree) and trunk (2.6 kg/tree). Alectorioid lichens predominated in the upper, middle and outer portions of the tree crown, whereas the lower and inner portion of the tree crowns had more equal distributions of all four functional groups. Relative height and limb size were the most significant structural attributes influencing epiphyte distribution. Limb size had a particularly strong effect on the distribution of bryophytes regardless of height. In old, canopy-emergent P. menziesii, the crown structural variables which determine epiphyte distribution and abundance are height, crown length, trunk surface area and exposure, distribution and abundance of small, medium and large branches, and distribution and exposure of foliated branches.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Diameter at breast height was a useful estimator of crown structural complexity.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pseudotsuga menziesiie1 - Organ / stage
- crowne0
- Outcome
- tree crown structural complexitye0
- Qualifier
- Diameter at breast heighte0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Diameter at breast height was a useful estimator of tree crown structural complexity.”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Epiphytes averaged 27.1 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Outcome
- Epiphytese0
- Value
- 27.1 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Epiphytes averaged 27.1 kg/tree”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Alectorioid lichens dominated epiphyte biomass at 19.3 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Outcome
- alectorioid lichense0
- Direction
- dominatinge0
- Value
- 19.3 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“alectorioid lichens (19.3 kg/tree) dominating the assemblages”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Other lichens had 3.3 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Outcome
- other lichense0
- Value
- 3.3 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“other lichens (3.3 kg/tree)”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Bryophytes had 2.6 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Outcome
- bryophytese0
- Value
- 2.6 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“bryophytes (2.6 kg/tree)”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Cyanolichens had 1.9 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Outcome
- cyanolichense0
- Value
- 1.9 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cyanolichens (1.9 kg/tree)”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
The foliage region had the highest lichen biomass, 16.4 kg per tree.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- foliage regione0
- Outcome
- biomass of lichense0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Value
- 16.4 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The foliage region had the highest biomass of lichens (16.4 kg/tree)”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Branches had 8 kg per tree of lichen biomass.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie2
- Organ / stage
- branchese0
- Outcome
- biomass of lichense1
- Value
- 8 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“branches (8 kg/tree)”
e1“biomass of lichens”
e2“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Trunks had 2.6 kg per tree of lichen biomass.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie2
- Organ / stage
- trunke0
- Outcome
- biomass of lichense1
- Value
- 2.6 kg/treee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“trunk (2.6 kg/tree)”
e1“biomass of lichens”
e2“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Alectorioid lichens predominated in the upper, middle and outer crown.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- tree crowne0
- Outcome
- Alectorioid lichens predominatede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Alectorioid lichens predominated in the upper, middle and outer portions of the tree crown”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower and inner crowns had a more equal distribution of four epiphyte groups.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- tree crownse0
- Outcome
- more equal distributions of all four functional groupse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the lower and inner portion of the tree crowns had more equal distributions of all four functional groups”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Relative height and limb size were the most significant crown structural attributes for epiphyte distribution.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- limbe0
- Outcome
- epiphyte distributione0
- Qualifier
- Relative height and limb sizee0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative height and limb size were the most significant structural attributes influencing epiphyte distribution.”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Limb size strongly affected bryophyte distribution regardless of height.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- Limbe0
- Outcome
- distribution of bryophytese0
- Qualifier
- regardless of heighte0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Limb size had a particularly strong effect on the distribution of bryophytes regardless of height.”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Height, crown length, trunk surface area and exposure, branch distribution and exposure determined epiphyte distribution and abundance.
- Taxon
- Pseudotsuga menziesiiPseudotsuga menziesiie1
- Organ / stage
- crowne0
- Outcome
- epiphyte distribution and abundancee0
- Qualifier
- height, crown length, trunk surface area and exposure, distribution and abundance of small, medium and large branches, and distribution and exposure of foliated branchese0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the crown structural variables which determine epiphyte distribution and abundance are height, crown length, trunk surface area and exposure, distribution and abundance of small, medium and large branches, and distribution and exposure of foliated branches”
e1“Pseudotsuga menziesii trees”