The Dispersal and Recruitment of Cyclanthaceae and Philodendron (Araceae) Understorey Root-Climbing Vines

Abstract

In 1977, Grubb proposed to define a plant’s ecological niche by four main components, one of which being the regeneration niche. All stages of the regeneration cycle are potentially important in the differentiation of species — or of groups of species, depending on the level of competition — and allow their coexistence. He underlined the importance, in particular, of the production of viable seeds, dispersal (in space and time), germination, establishment and development of the immature plant. The regeneration niche is one of the aspects of the ecological niche least studied, as it deals with relatively ‘hidden’ stages of a plant’s life history. It often remains the least known part of its ecology.