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Buttress Roots-above-ground root system to ensure stability for the tallest trees and to increase the surface area over which the plant can draw its nutrients.
Lyric Wintheiser
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∙ 10y agoButtresses on tropical trees provide mechanical support- they hold the tree up. The question is not so much why some species produce buttresses, as it is why all of them do not do so. Buttresses vary in prevalence across plant families, and also exhibit variable development within a family and even among individuals within a species, though the degree of individual plasticity differs among species.
Buttresses tend to occur in the following circumstances:
1- trees in the ecological guild called "persistent pioneers"- that is, they begin life in the open or at forest edges or in very large gaps, achieve large size, and then remain as emergent trees as the surrounding forest grows and matures around them.
2- trees that are small-gap specialists, that sprout in the forest understory, grow rapidly once they find themselves within a light gap, and then become emergents by surpassing the main canopy in height, thus suddenly subjecting the tree to strong wind shear.
3- trees that inhabit unstable or subsiding soils, often in flooded or inundated circumstances.
4- stranglers that must rapidly establish a support system during the relatively rapid transition from parasite to forest giant.
These observations generated the hypothesis that buttresses, while adopting many simultaneous functions, are most strongly selected for in trees that experience rapid shifts in gravity loading or shear during a relatively brief interval in their lifetime. In other words, buttresses offer rapid adaptation to shifts in loading, but are clearly not the only viable mechanism for holding up a big tree.
Reference is often made to the shallow, nutrient-poor soils of tropical rainforests, but large buttresses occur even on deep, mineral-rich soils.
For further elaboration of this "polyaptation hypothesis", see:
Kaufman, L. S. 1988. The role of developmental crises in the formation of buttresses: A unified hypothesis. Evol. Trend. Plants 2(1): 39-51.
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∙ 12y agothe first one i belive so i think do so i think i think so i do believe so wich is true i believe so i think its true
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How are Lianas adapted to the rainforest?
They have adapted to life in the rain forest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach the available sunlight.
What kind of plants are in the rainforest?
There is a tropical greenhouse, including orchids, buttress roots, strangler fig, Fungus, ferns, split-leaf plant, and many more.
What is the main difference between a tropical rain forest and coastal forest?
a tropical forest has a lot of rain. a coastal forest has no rain.
What are some crops grown in the Amazon rain forest?
There are no crops grown in the Amazon rain Forest. A rain forest is an area of land covered in Trees and plant life to have a farm land in the rain forest would no longer make it a rain forest.
What is One Unique feature about the tropical rain forest?
it's a tropical forest of rain
In which biome do buttress and stilt roots live in?
Buttress and stilt roots are found in the rain forest biome. They like nutrient poor soil, which is what the rain forest floor has due to lack of sunlight.
How have buttress roots adapted to the Amazon rain forest?
this because the buttress roots support the growth of the trees (for it to have a decent stucture) and for the buttress roots to extend to find water from the soil :0 ;) :) :( ;D :D ;P :P :Z :[] ;[] :() ;()
What eat orchids and buttress roots in the Tropical Rain Forest?
nick dudley
What are buttress roots and how are they helpful?
Buttress roots are large roots that protrude from shallowly planted rainforest trees. The function of buttress roots is to provide support for the tree and to gather much needed nutrients that are required for the tree's survival.
How are Lianas adapted to the rainforest?
They have adapted to life in the rain forest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach the available sunlight.
What plants grow in the rainforest?
Romeliads, Buttress Roots, Orchids, Lianas, Strangler Fig, Stilts/Prop Roots, Bromeliads, Carniverous Plants MAIREAD AND EMMA D
How have sloths adapted to living in the rain forest?
sloths adapted to the tropical rain forest because green algae grows on their fur which camouflages them.
What is the name for the top layer trees in the rain forest?
roots
What types of plants live in the rainforests?
There are plants in the rain forests like Bromeliads,Buttress Roots, Carniverous Plants, Epiphytes, Lians, Orchids, Saprophytes, Stilt/Prop Roots and Strangler Fig.
How has the black bear adapted to live in the temperate rain forest?
because of its thick fur
Where are plants found in the rain forest?
Other plants grow in the upper canopy on larger trees to get sunlight. These are the epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads. Many treeshave buttress and stilt roots for extra support in the shallow, wet soil of the rainforests. Over 2,500 species of vines grow in the rainforest.
How has wildlife adapted to living in particular rain forest habitats?
with its fur/hair making it thinner..
