2021
DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3861
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Constant gardeners: Endozoochory promotes repeated seedling recruitment in clonal plants

Abstract: Paradoxically, seedlings of clonal plants are rarely observed in nature, despite many of these species producing large amounts of seeds every fruiting season. Studies about clonal plants' recruitment strategies are usually based on experiments carried out under controlled conditions (e.g., laboratory) and rarely consider frugivores' effects. We tested the role of endozoochory in the seedling recruitment in natural conditions of the bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, a widely distributed clonal species and a key res… Show more

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Cited by 9 publications
(2 citation statements)
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“…Our results tie into several recent studies that highlight that seedling establishment of berry‐producing ericaceous plants is closely linked with non‐exclusive pathways of directed endozoochory. For example, passerine birds direct seed dispersal towards decaying wood (Arnberg et al., 2023) and brown bears towards resting sites (García‐Rodríguez & Selva, 2021), both providing favourable conditions for seedling establishment (Arnberg et al., 2023; García‐Rodríguez et al., 2022). Indeed, Vaccinium populations have shown higher genetic diversity than expected for clonal populations (Albert et al., 2004, 2005; Persson & Gustavsson, 2001).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Our results tie into several recent studies that highlight that seedling establishment of berry‐producing ericaceous plants is closely linked with non‐exclusive pathways of directed endozoochory. For example, passerine birds direct seed dispersal towards decaying wood (Arnberg et al., 2023) and brown bears towards resting sites (García‐Rodríguez & Selva, 2021), both providing favourable conditions for seedling establishment (Arnberg et al., 2023; García‐Rodríguez et al., 2022). Indeed, Vaccinium populations have shown higher genetic diversity than expected for clonal populations (Albert et al., 2004, 2005; Persson & Gustavsson, 2001).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Bilberry's alpine expansion, on the contrary, may be due to influx of berries and seeds from the boreal zone. Despite large seed production, bilberry seedlings are surprisingly rarely observed at the forest floor(García-Rodríguez & Selva, 2021;Welch et al, 2000).This may be due to limited amounts of microsites with bare soil, bilberry's preferred germination substrate. Such microsites become increasingly abundant above the tree line.…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%