Universidad Central de Venezuela, Facultad Ciencias, Centro Botánica Tropical, Apartado 48312, Caracas 1041-A, Venezuela.
Am J Bot. 2002 May;89(5):836-42. doi: 10.3732/ajb.89.5.836.
Reproductive phenology of 171 plant species belonging to 57 families of angiosperms was studied according to life-forms in four habitat types in a savanna-forest mosaic on the Venezuelan Central Plain. Flowering, unripe fruit, and mature fruit patterns were affected significantly according to life-forms and habitats respectively. Production of flowers, unripe fruits, and mature fruits showed marked seasonality for all habitats except for the forest. Flowering peaked during the rainy season, and fruiting peaked toward the end of the rainy season. The savanna and the disturbed area had similar proportions of species that flowered over the year. The percentage of species with unripe fruits produced throughout the year was more seasonal for the disturbed area than for the other habitats. Mature fruit patterns showed an increase during the late rainy season for the ecotone and savanna. A large number of herbaceous (annual and perennial) and liana species flowered during the wet season, and a smaller fraction flowered during the dry season; and trees, shrubs, and epiphytes increased flowering activity during the dry season. Unripe fruit patterns were similar to those of flowering for all life-forms, however, tree species were less seasonal. Mature fruit production by shrubs peaked in the period of maximum rainfall, while the peak for perennial herbs was in the late rainy season and the peak for annual herbs was during the transition between the rainy season and the dry season. The largest proportion of tree and liana species with ripe fruits occurred during the dry season. Differences among phenological patterns in habitats were caused mainly by life-forms and promote a wider distribution of reproductive events in habitats and overall community in the Venezuelan Central Plain.
对委内瑞拉中央平原稀树草原-森林镶嵌体中四个生境类型的 57 个科 171 种被子植物的生活型的繁殖物候进行了研究。生活型和生境分别显著影响着开花、未成熟果实和成熟果实的模式。除森林外，所有生境的花、未成熟果实和成熟果实的产生均表现出明显的季节性。开花高峰期在雨季，结实高峰期在雨季末期。稀树草原和干扰区具有相似比例的全年开花物种。干扰区全年产生未成熟果实的物种比例比其他生境更具季节性。生态交错区和稀树草原的成熟果实模式在雨季后期呈上升趋势。大量草本（一年生和多年生）和藤本植物在雨季开花，而较少部分在旱季开花；树木、灌木和附生植物在旱季增加开花活动。未成熟果实模式与所有生活型的开花模式相似，但树木的季节性较弱。灌木的未成熟果实产量峰值出现在降雨量最大的时期，而多年生草本植物的峰值出现在雨季后期，一年生草本植物的峰值出现在雨季和旱季交替时期。有成熟果实的树木和藤本植物的比例在旱季最大。生境中物候模式的差异主要是由生活型引起的，促进了繁殖事件在生境和委内瑞拉中央平原整体群落中的更广泛分布。
