Background and scope: The epiphytic life form characterizes almost 10 % of all vascular plants. Defined by structural dependence throughout their life and their non-parasitic relationship with the host, the term epiphyte describes a heterogeneous and taxonomically diverse group of plants. This article reviews the importance of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) among epiphytes in current climatic conditions and explores the prospects under global change.
Results and conclusions: We question the view of a disproportionate importance of CAM among epiphytes and its role as a 'key innovation' for epiphytism but do identify ecological conditions in which epiphytic existence seems to be contingent on the presence of this photosynthetic pathway. Possibly divergent responses of CAM and C3 epiphytes to future changes in climate and land use are discussed with the help of experimental evidence, current distributional patterns and the results of several long-term descriptive community studies. The results and their interpretation aim to stimulate a fruitful discussion on the role of CAM in epiphytes in current climatic conditions and in altered climatic conditions in the future.
Keywords: Carbon isotopes; crassulacean acid metabolism; disturbance; dry forest; epiphytes; functional traits; germination; global change; key innovation; plant–water relationships.
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