Pasture and crop lands restrict seed dispersal near remnant forest fragments, especially by restricting the movements of dispersal agents and limiting propagule dispersal. Some factors can improve seed dispersal in open areas, such as the presence of high numbers of isolated trees in close proximity to forest fragments. We sought to determine if: (i) the structural characteristics and (ii) densities of isolated trees in pasture lands, and (iii) their distances from the forest fragments, infl uence seed dispersal. We installed 18 seed traps in each of six pastures (total=108 traps) bordering forest fragments distributed over 6 distance classes from the forest edges (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 m). We determined the characteristics of the plants surrounding the traps. GLM and GLMer analyses were performed and the best model was selected by AIC. We collected 8162 seeds (4722 anemochorous, 3304 epizoochorous, 72 autochorous, and 64 endozoochorous) belonging to 26 species. Our results showed that plants with high crown coverage close to forest fragments and at high densities in the pastures increased seed dispersal. Th ese results may aid future restoration of pasture lands by improving seed dispersal in this harsh habitat and promoting better connectivity between forest fragments.

Species homogenization or floristic differentiation are two possible consequences of the fragmentation process in plant communities. Despite the few studies, it seems clear that fragments with low forest cover inserted in anthropogenic matrices are more likely to experience floristic homogenization. However, the homogenization process has two other components, genetic and functional, which have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to verify whether there was homogenization of tree reproductive functions in a fragmented landscape and, if found, to determine how the process was influenced by landscape composition. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwest Brazil. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwestern Brazil. In each fragment, all individual trees were sampled that had a diameter at breast height ≥3 cm, in ten plots (0.2 ha) and, classified within 26 reproductive functional types (RFTs). The process of functional homogenization was evaluated using additive partitioning of diversity. Additionally, the effect of landscape composition on functional diversity and on the number of individuals within each RFT was evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model. appeared to be in a process of functional homogenization (dominance of RFTs, alpha diversity lower than expected by chance and and low beta diversity). More than 50% of the RFTs and the functional diversity were affected by the landscape parameters. In general, the percentage of forest cover has a positive effect on RFTs while the percentage of coffee matrix has a negative one. The process of functional homogenization has serious consequences for biodiversity conservation because some functions may disappear that, in the long term, would threaten the fragments. This study contributes to a better understanding of how landscape changes affect the functional diversity, abundance of individuals in RFTs and the process of functional homogenization, as well as how to manage fragmented landscapes.

The fragmentation process has many negative effects on communities, particularly for plants. This process can generate two distinct scenarios: homogenization of species composition, due to assemblage nestedness, or flora differentiation, due to spatial species turnover. The aim of this study was to answer the following questions: (1) Is the tree canopy and understory community of a highly fragmented landscape (9% of forest cover) the result of species nestedness or turnover? (2) Is the pattern of additive partitioning of diversity similar between the understory and canopy tree communities? and (3) Are landscape characteristics responsible for diversity partitioning of the tree assemblage? The studied area has low remaining forest coverage (~9%), caused by deforestation that started in the 18th century, and a very heterogeneous matrix around forest patches. Within this landscape context, we hypothesized that the tree assemblage (both canopy and understory strata) in the studied fragments would be homogeneous, as a consequence of a nested subset. The study was carried out in nine fragments of submontane semideciduous Atlantic Forest. All individuals with a height >1 m in 10 (200 m2) plots in each studied fragment were sampled, measured, and divided into two strata (canopy and understory individuals). The study found that the high beta diversity among plots and among fragments in both strata was due to species turnover (avoiding species homogenization) and that the landscape characteristics tested were not responsible for this result. These fragments present many rare and exclusive species and are not dominated by only a few species. In this scenario, it is necessary to conserve as many fragments as possible to protect most of tree assemblage because each fragment has a unique species composition.

Abiotic and biotic changes caused by forest fragmentation have led to the decline of many plant species. We sought to investigate how biotic (liana and bamboo cover) and abiotic (soil moisture, litter depth, and canopy openness) factors affect the total abundance and the numbers of individuals of Psychotria vellosiana Benth. at each stage of its life cycle (seedlings, juvenile I and II, adult reproductive and vegetative) in a fragmented landscape. P. vellosiana was selected because it is a forest species, important for fauna, especially ants and birds in the understory, and is highly abundant in semideciduous Atlantic forest areas. We hypothesised that fragments with less humidity, greater litter depth, greater canopy openness, and more liana and bamboo cover would contain fewer individuals at all five life cycle stages of that species. Ten 0.01 ha plots were set up in semideciduous Atlantic Forest fragments, and all individuals of P. vellosiana were tagged and measured. The study also measured canopy openness, soil moisture, litter depth, and bamboo and liana cover. Our results indicated that there was a negative relationship between liana and bamboo cover at all stages of the life cycle of P. vellosiana. This is one of the few studies that has investigated environmental effects on all stages of the life cycle of a plant population, and demonstrates that liana and bamboo cover can affect all stages of plant growth and development. Despite some restrictions, we can affirm that forest species are threatened by fragmentation processes, and that the main threat to local populations of P. vellosiana is liana and bamboo cover.

Environmental characteristics are among the most important triggers and regulators of plant phenophases, so that the abiotic and biotic changes driven by habitat loss and fragmentation can result in alterations of plant phenological patterns. We investigated whether forest edge and interior have differences in phenological pattern of tree communities. We followed the reproductive phenologies of tree communities in seven forest fragments on a monthly basis for two years (in 200 m² edge and interior plots per fragment). We sampled a total of 0.28 ha of anthropic forest fragments, comprising 313 trees (180 in edge, 133 in interior) belonging to 103 species and 34 families. Our results evidenced reproductive phenological changes between edge and interior tree communities, with: (i) phenological activities differing temporally between the two habitats (edge and forest interior) in all tree communities; (ii) greater phenological intensity at the forest edge than in the forest interior among tree species common to both habitats; (iii) more tree species showed phenological activity at the forest edge in 2010 and interior in 2011, when considering only those exclusive to each habitat. Habitat fragmentation can therefore alter microenvironmental characteristics and influence biologic processes, including the reproductive phenologies of trees, through edge formation.