Distribution and abundance of vines in forest communities

Where species diversity of vines is high, usually relative abundance is also high. However, because of their thin stems vines seldom form more than a minor proportion of the biomass of any forest, even in the tropics. Exceptions to this rule are often found during regeneration of very disturbed sites, where one or two species of vine become dominant. This chapter reviews the results of various quantitative studies of vines, mostly from mature tropical and subtropical forests.