Nature's Fabric by David Lee

Author:David Lee [Lee, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-226-18062-5
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2017-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Epiphylls

Leaf surfaces provide opportunities for other organisms to colonize. Although a generally hostile environment, these surfaces attract many microorganisms, particularly bacteria; some are beneficial and some are harmful. Bryophytes (especially liverworts) and lichens are also important, particularly because of their capacity to take up nitrogen (fig. 13.7; p. 28). Epiphylls are particularly abundant in forests of high and frequent rainfall, in locations with partial exposure to sunlight. As the leaves age, the epiphylls accumulate. They may cover so much of the leaf surface that they reduce the photosynthetic capacity of leaves and contribute to their aging and fall. Green algae and slime molds may also accumulate. In the New World tropics, leaves are often removed from trees by the ubiquitous leaf-cutting ants. These take the leaves to their underground nests, where they cultivate fungi. Apparently, the epiphylls are harmful to the fungal growth because these ants avoid cutting leaves with epiphylls on them. Although epiphylls grow on a variety of leaf surfaces, from smooth to rough, they are less abundant on long-lived leaves, perhaps because of their defensive chemical compounds. Epiphylls also occur in temperate rainforests, on leaves of evergreen trees.

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