Scholarlink

<p>While extensive research exists on the taxonomy of Myristica swamp species, their microclimatic niches remain poorly understood. We assessed microclimatic niche differentiation among tree species in Myristica swamps, an endangered ecosystem in the Western Ghats, by quantifying soil moisture and temperature gradients across swamp, edge, and adjacent forest habitats. Our analysis revealed significant interspecific differences in environmental optima. We observed that soil moisture varied significantly across habitats (P &lt; 0.001), whereas soil temperature exhibited subtler gradients. The general ‘swamp specialist’ species occupied significantly wetter microsites than forest generalist and edge species. Forest species demonstrated broad environmental tolerances, whereas swamp specialists exhibited narrower niche widths, particularly in response to temperature (MANOVA: Pillai’s trace = 0.427, approx. F<sub>4,896</sub> = 59.623, *p* &lt; 2.2 × 10<sup>–16</sup>). These results bring to light the critical role of microclimate in structuring tree community composition across tropical wetland terrestrial ecotones and highlight the vulnerability of specialized swamp endemics to environmental change.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Microclimatic niche separation among swamp, forest, and edge species in Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats, India

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月12日

查看全文
  • Balachandra Hegde,
  • Narasimha Hegde,
  • H. V. Raghavendra,
  • Rohan Shetti,
  • Yogendra Kambalagere

摘要

While extensive research exists on the taxonomy of Myristica swamp species, their microclimatic niches remain poorly understood. We assessed microclimatic niche differentiation among tree species in Myristica swamps, an endangered ecosystem in the Western Ghats, by quantifying soil moisture and temperature gradients across swamp, edge, and adjacent forest habitats. Our analysis revealed significant interspecific differences in environmental optima. We observed that soil moisture varied significantly across habitats (P < 0.001), whereas soil temperature exhibited subtler gradients. The general ‘swamp specialist’ species occupied significantly wetter microsites than forest generalist and edge species. Forest species demonstrated broad environmental tolerances, whereas swamp specialists exhibited narrower niche widths, particularly in response to temperature (MANOVA: Pillai’s trace = 0.427, approx. F4,896 = 59.623, *p* < 2.2 × 10–16). These results bring to light the critical role of microclimate in structuring tree community composition across tropical wetland terrestrial ecotones and highlight the vulnerability of specialized swamp endemics to environmental change.