Igapó (Black-water flooded forests) of the Amazon Basin

312 Pages·2018·11.35 MB·English

by  Randall W. Myster

Randall W. Myster Editor
Igapó (Black-water
fl ooded forests) of
the Amazon Basin
Igapó (Black-water flooded forests)
of the Amazon Basin
Randall W. Myster
Editor
Igapó (Black-water flooded
forests) of the Amazon Basin
Editor
Randall W. Myster
Biology Department
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-90121-3 ISBN 978-3-319-90122-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90122-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018951548
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
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Dedicated to the memory of Al Gentry.
“Every man dies, but not every man truly
lives.” – William Wallace
Foreword
The western Amazon forest is truly the world’s most precious treasure of
biodiversity. I have been fortunate to explore this region for some 37 years as a
field biologist, an ecotourism owner, and creator/manager of the Area de
Conservacion Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo, Loreto Region,
Peru. This has included a 20+ year collaboration with Dr. Myster. This book is
the fruit of those efforts and includes chapters from the premier authors doing
current research in igapó forest, most of them residing in South American
countries. Some of these authors are of limited means, and so this is an impor-
tant vehicle for the publication of their work. It is the first book to focus on
igapó forest exclusively and is a comprehensive compilation. It includes all
aspects of igapó research: spatial and temporal scales, light, water, soil and the
carbon cycle, litter, fungi, plants, both invertebrate and vertebrate animals, and
management. In addition to editing, Dr. Myster provides both an excellent
introduction, which summarizes what we know about igapó forests in the
Amazon and motivates the chapters that follow, and a concluding chapter that
points out key results, synthesizes, and suggests future research avenues.
I believe it is critical that such work continues in the future, and our study
sites, along with my efforts as scientific coordinator, are ready to help facilitate
that research. I hope this book can serve as a significant part of those studies,
both as a reference and as an organizational tool, as we learn more about the
critically important igapó forest.
Miami, Florida, USA Paul Beaver
vii
Preface
After rereading the prologue to my first book on the Amazon, I felt that I should – in
this second book – be more forthcoming about some of the challenges I have faced
doing research there, especially deep in the Amazon under primitive conditions, so
that those who wish to follow may be more prepared, in so far as that is possible. You
may have to – as I did – live on an uncovered wooden platform, sleeping on one end
and cooking on the other. You may be asked to – as I was – live in a canvas tent so hot,
even at night, that I actually entertained the idea of offering myself up to the clouds of
insects outside. Whatever your accommodations, the forest will be your toilet where
you should learn to finish quickly before the ants can find you. I would also suggest
that you learn how fast to walk through that same forest, faster than the mosquitos can
fly but slow enough to allow the snakes time to get out of the way. A bite from one of
the many poisonous snakes could ruin your whole day (life). With time, your body
may come to resemble mine where the mites, ticks, gnats, wasps, biting flies, leeches,
etc. have all left their marks. Then there are the diseases, some of which you can pre-
pare for with vaccinations and pills (e.g., yellow fever, malaria), but other bacterial,
viral (welcome, Zika!), and “God knows what” infections you cannot and so must just
lay back and enjoy them, playing the perverse game of describing their symptoms as
you come down with them. You may also try to temporarily boost your immune
system with gamma globulin injections (It doesn’t work. You get sick anyway).
If nothing else, the Amazon is a place where the usual calm and confidence afforded
to us by Western medicine may seem to break down, leaving you with the feeling that
you are at the mercy of forces you cannot understand or control. Indeed, this sheer
“wildness” of the Amazon can be both exhilarating and frightening. You just never
know what may come walking out of the rainforest at you. I have had primal, intense
experiences there, ranging from wonder all the way to horror. You may also.
And so, after 20+ years of working in the Amazon, I believe I can say that there
are at least two character traits you will need if you want to do research there: (1)
you must love science and the beauty of nature and (2) you must be willing to pay
for it with your body.
R. W. M.
ix
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Randall W. Myster
1.1 Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Case Study: Primary (1°) Igapó Forests at Área de
Conservación Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 1 ha Plot: Floristics and Physical Structure Sampling . . . . . . 7
1.2.2 1 ha Plot: Seed Predation, Seed Pathogens,
and Germination Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.3 0.01 ha Flooding × Tree Fall Gap Plots:
Soils, Floristics, and Physical Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.4 0.01 ha Flooding × Tree Fall Gap Plots:
Seed Predation, Seed Pathogens, and Germination . . . . . . . . 13
1.3 Case Study: Secondary (2°) Igapó Forests
at Sabalillo Forest Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.1 Small Plots: Floristics and Physical Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.2 Small Plots: Soil Bulk Density and Its Predictive Ability . . . 14
1.4 C ompilation Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.5 A bout This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Part I Igapó Over Space and Time
2 D iversity of Dispersal Systems in Igapó Forests:
An Analysis of Local Tree Diversity, Species Turnover,
and Dispersal Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
María Natalia Umaña, Diego F. Correa, Ángela Cano,
Luisa F. Casas, Sasha Cárdenas, Boris Villanueva,
and Pablo Stevenson
2.1 I ntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 M ethods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.2.1 Study Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
xi
xii Contents
2.2.2 Statistical Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Part II Water and Light
3 Mercury in Black-Waters of the Amazon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Daniele Kasper, Bruce Rider Forsberg, Helena do Amaral Kehrig,
João Henrique Fernandes Amaral, Wanderley Rodrigues Bastos,
and Olaf Malm
3.1 Mercury in the Amazon Black-Waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2 Case Study: Mercury in the Negro Basin,
a Black-Water River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.3 New Challenges for Studies in the Brazilian Amazonian
Black-Water Rivers in a Changing Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Part III Soil and the Carbon Cycle
4 Soil Carbon and the Carbon Cycle
in the Central Amazon Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Fabrício Berton Zanchi
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2 Total Amazon Carbon Estimative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.3 L itter Decomposition Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5 Igapó Ecosystem Soils: Features and Environmental Importance . . . 67
Maria de Lourdes Pinheiro Ruivo, Denise de Andrade Cunha,
Rosecelia Moreira da Silva Castro, Elessandra Laura Nogueira
Lopes, Darley C. Leal Matos, and Rita Denize de Oliveira
5.1 Amazonia Wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.2 Igapó Ecosystem: Soil Characteristics and Study Case . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.2.1 Case Study: National Forest of Caxiuanã . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.3 Social Importance of Igapó and the Ecosystem
Protection Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.4 Final Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Part IV Litter, Fungi and Invertebrates
6 Diversity and Phenology of Arachnids in Igapó Forests . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Lidianne Salvatierra
6.1 Arachnids as Potential Bioindicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.2 Diversity of Arachnids in Igapó Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
6.3 Life Cycles and Adaptations of Arachnids in Igapó Forest . . . . . . . . 88
Contents xiii
6.4 Conclusion and Future Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7 Influence of Flood Levels on the Richness and Abundance
of Galling Insects Associated with Trees from Seasonally
Flooded Forests of Central Amazonia, Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Genimar R. Julião, Eduardo M. Venticinque,
and G. Wilson Fernandes
7.1 I ntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7.2 M aterial and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
7.2.1 Study Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
7.2.2 Insect Gall Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7.2.3 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.3.1 Galling Insect Abundance × Forest Type and Habitat . . . . . . 106
7.3.2 Galling Insect Richness × Forest Type and Habitat . . . . . . . . 106
7.3.3 Tree Species and Individuals × Forest Type and Habitat . . . . 107
7.3.4 GIR/Tree Richness × Forest Type and Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . 107
7.3.5 Plant Species Richness Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Part V Vertebrates
8 Primates of Igapó Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Adrian A. Barnett and Thays Jucá
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.2 Summary of Existing Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.2.1 Seasonal Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
8.2.2 Species Use of Igapó . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
8.3 Recommendations for Future Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
9 I nfluence of Time and Flood on Diurnal Mammal
Diversity and Story Level Use in Igapó Forest
in the Peruvian Amazon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Rosa R. Palmer and John L. Koprowski
9.1 I ntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
9.2 M ethods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.2.1 Study Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.2.2 Mammalian Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.2.3 Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
9.3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
9.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145