51. Tropical Podocarps

Organised by Ben Turner and Lucas Cernusak to be held at Network Headquarters, Sydney. First meeting 3-6 February 2009

PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE Ben Turner - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Republic of Panama - soils and the mineral nutrition of Podocarpaceae Lucas Cernusak - Charles Darwin U, NT - water use efficiency in the Podocarpaceae Peter Bellingham - Landcare Research NZ - ecology of NZ podocarps Edward Biffin - U Adelaide - molecular phylogenetics Tim Brodribb - U Tasmania - ecophysiology of the Podocarpaceae David Coomes - U Cambridge, UK - ecology of angiosperm and gymnosperm co-existence James Dalling - U Illinois - Podocarpaceae in neotropical forests Ian Dickie - Landcare Research, NZ - root nodules and symbiotic organisms in the Podocarpaceae Neal Enright - U Melbourne - ecology of tropical conifers Kanehiro Kitayama - Kyoto U - tropical montane forests Hans Lambers - U Western Australia - nutrient-mining by Proteaceae Chris Lusk - Macquarie U - woody plant trait-environment relationships Richard Morley - U London - palaeoecological history of the Podocarpaceae Mike Lawes - Charles Darwin U - African podocarps Phil Ladd - Murdoch U, WA - podarps and fire ecology

Feb 09 >

GOAL

The emergence of angiosperms in tropical forests at the expense of the gymnosperms, their ancestral relatives, was one of the most important events in the evolutionary history of terrestrial plants. Conifers of the Podocarpaceae were an important component of the Gondwanan flora, but were virtually eliminated from the tropics following the evolution of angiosperms in the early Cretaceous. Yet they remain one of the few gymnosperm families that still occur in tropical forests. What enables podocarps to persist in angiosperm-dominated tropical environments?

The Tropical Podocarps workshop brought together a multidisciplinary group of scientists working on podocarps in both temperate and tropical ecosystems. Key topics included the current and historical distribution of podocarps in tropical forests, the ecology of angiosperm-gymnosperm competition, the phylogeny of the Podocarpaceae, as well as various aspects of the ecophysiology and mineral nutrition of podocarps that influence their distribution, including the unusual root nodules that appear to be a key feature of all podocarp species.

One of the key conclusions of the workshop was that tropical podocarps do not represent Gondwanan relicts, but have actively dispersed back into tropical forests, at least in south east Asia and Africa, since the late Eocene (< 40 million years ago). In doing so they have successfully filled available ecological niches, including parasitism and a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

A book on podocarps in tropical forests, containing review chapters by workshop participants, will be published by the Smithsonian Press later this year.

Last Updated March 2009