Diversity and distribution of climbing plants under different anthropogenic disturbance regimes in a forest–orchard mosaic landscape in southwestern Japan.

Invasion by climbing plants is a major obstacle to successful vegetation recovery from disturbance and land management in some regions. However, it is unclear how different habitats in agricultural landscapes contribute to the diversity and structure of climbing plant assemblages. In this study, we surveyed the diversity and distribution of climbing plants at disturbed sites of three types (abandoned orange orchards, forest–orchard edges and windbreak hedges) in a forest-–terraced orchard mosaic landscape in southwestern Japan. Forest–orchard edges and more recently abandoned orchards tended to have greater climbing plant species richness than most of windbreak hedges and longer-abandoned orchards, which were dominated by kudzu (Pueraria lobata), Humulus scandens, or both. The presence or absence of an overhanging canopy and varying weed control practices in adjacent orchards have created heterogeneous forest–orchard edge conditions that have led to the differentiation of climbing plant assemblages. Repetitive hedge pruning and removal of climbing plants by farmers has created less favourable habitats for many climbing plants. These findings indicate that climbing plant assemblages did not simply correspond to the three focal site types, but rather were determined by 'ecological memory' associated with the effects of past and current agricultural activities and management of neighbouring forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]