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Formation of Epiphytic Communities in Man-made Forests of South Vietnam

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Abstract

Epiphytes in man-made forests simulating a mixed tropical forest of South Vietnam are studied. With respect to the number of species, epiphytic orchids are better represented than ferns (six vs. five species); on the other hand, the latter prevail in the number of individuals. A comparison of the floristic composition of the epiphytic community of plantations with a nearby primary forest (Stugrun–Rădulescu index ρsr = 0.68) and two other South Vietnam forests (Ma Da Forestry and Phu Quoc Island; ρsr = 0.61 and 0.71, respectively) did not reveal significant similarities. However, these data indicate that a relatively complex epiphytic community, which can accumulate up to 100 kg/ha of deposited organic matter and plant mineral nutrients in crowns, has been formed in the man-made forests over 20 years.

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Notes

  1. Lemmaphyllum microphyllum twines round a whole tree (although to different extents); therefore, the number of Lemmaphyllum microphyllum specimens in the case under consideration is the same as that of trees on which Lemmaphyllum microphyllum was found.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Igor Palko, a member of the Southern Branch of the Russian–Vietnamese Tropical Center, for providing the photographs.

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 18-04-00677) under State Assignment no. 118021490111-5 of the Main Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences, on the basis of the Greenhouse Research Institution and scientific park of the St. Petersburg State University: Resource Center Methods of Analyzing the Composition of Matter. The study of N.G. Prilepsky was supported by state contract no. AAAA-A16-116021660037-7 of the Moscow State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences, 127276, Moscow, Russia

    A. K. Eskov & V. A. Antipina

  2. Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    N. G. Prilepsky

  3. St. Petersburg State University, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. V. Abakumov

  4. Russian–Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, Southern Branch, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

    A. K. Eskov, N. G. Prilepsky, E. V. Abakumov & Nguyen Van Thinh

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  1. A. K. Eskov
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  3. V. A. Antipina
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  4. E. V. Abakumov
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Correspondence to A. K. Eskov.

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Translated by D. Zabolotny

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Eskov, A.K., Prilepsky, N.G., Antipina, V.A. et al. Formation of Epiphytic Communities in Man-made Forests of South Vietnam. Russ J Ecol 51, 206–214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413620030078

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