Journal of Ecology and Environment

The Ecological Society of Korea (한국생태학회)
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Flowering and fruiting phenology of herbs, climbers, shrubs, and trees in the deciduous dipterocarp forest of Northern Thailand

  • Janejaree Inuthai (Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Lampang Campus)
  • Received : 2023.06.13
  • Accepted : 2023.08.14
  • Published : 2023.09.30
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Abstract

Background: The flowering and fruiting periods play an important role in biological processes. The deciduous dipterocarp forest is an important forest type in Thailand, however the phenological studies are still limited, particularly in different plant life forms. Thus, the present study focused on the flowering and fruiting phenology of herbs, climbers, shrubs, and trees in the deciduous dipterocarp forest at Lampang province of Northern Thailand. Field visits were made to record plant life forms and observe reproductive phenological events at monthly intervals from November 2018 to October 2019 and September to December 2020. Results: The phenological observations were based on 126 species of 45 families and 102 genera. Flowering and fruiting periods showed similar patterns in herbaceous plants, climbers, and shrubs. Most of these species produced flowers and fruits from the end of the rainy season (October) to the winter season (November-January). Whereas most of flowering and fruiting trees were found from the summer season (March-April) to the beginning of the rainy season (May-June). Most of the dry-fruited species occurred during the dry period (winter and summer seasons), while the majority of fleshy-fruited species dominated in the wet period (rainy season). The statistical analysis supported the phenological patterns of flowering and fruiting in the present study. There were significant negative correlations between the number of flowering and fruiting species and temperature. The number of flowering and fruiting species is significantly impacted by the interaction between seasons and plant life forms. Conclusions: Plant life form seems to be the important factor that affects the different phenological patterns in the studied plants. The abiotic and biotic factors play major roles in reproductive phenology. However, long-term study and in-depth phenological observations are necessary for better understanding.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Naiyana Tetsana, Forest Herbarium, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand, for her hospitality and suggestions in botanical identification. My sincere thanks to Miss Visuda Keawnunchai, a scientist, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Lampang, Thailand for her assistance during the field surveys and data collection. My appreciation to Assistant Professor Dr. Jumpot Intrakul, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Lampang, Thailand for his advice in statistical analysis. I am deeply grateful to the editor and anonymous reviewers for all their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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