Fast-growing vines are overtaking trees in tropical forests across the Americas, a trend that could affect biodiversity and carbon storage in forest ecosystems, new research shows. After analyzing data from several studies, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
and the University of Wisconsin say that vines
make up an ever-large percentage of total forest biomass from the Brazilian Amazon to the forests of South Carolina. On Panama’s Barro Colorado Island, for example, the proportion of vines in tree crowns has doubled over the last 40 years. In French Guyana, vines increased 60 percent faster than trees from 1996 to 2002. “We are witnessing a fundamental structural change in the physical make-up of forests that will have a profound impact on the animals, human communities and businesses that depend on them for their livelihoods,” said Stefan Schnitzer, a professor at the University of Wisconsin. While there is no scientific consensus on why vines are thriving at the expense of trees, researchers say the plants may be more resistant to seasonal droughts that have become more common and may recover more quickly from major disturbances, such as hurricanes, logging, and industrialization.

STRI
Bauhinia, a common tropical vine