Deforested habitats lack seeds of late‐successional and large‐seeded plant species in tropical montane forests

Saavedra, Francisco; Hensen, Isabell; Schleuning, Matthias

doi:10.1111/avsc.12184

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…This indicates dispersal limitation-a situation likely exacerbated by few effective dispersal agents such as frugivorous birds and bats using these areas TA B L E 2 Number of identified rodent "events" and estimated rodent biomass (mean ± 1 SE) in the forest, edge and bracken. and the low availability of perches for them (sensu Saavedra et al, 2015). We note that Clutia abyssinica, the only species whose seedlings showed a clear tendency to favor bracken, was not detected in the seed rain.…”

Section: Processesmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…received roughly 1% of the seed rain about 100 m from the forest. This indicates dispersal limitation—a situation likely exacerbated by few effective dispersal agents such as frugivorous birds and bats using these areas and the low availability of perches for them ( sensu Saavedra et al., ). We note that Clutia abyssinica , the only species whose seedlings showed a clear tendency to favor bracken, was not detected in the seed rain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nonzoochorous tree species, especially early successional species, tend to produce numerous small seeds that can be transported by wind, but most tropical forest tree species depend on frugivorous animals for dispersal (Ghazoul & Sheil, 2010). Observations in the neotropics have indicated that the seed rain of animal-dispersed species is influenced by the availability of food and of perching sites (e.g., Saavedra, Hensen, & Schleuning, 2015). Studies in African forests have also found that the arrival of large-seeded species depends on large mammals including elephants and primates (Babweteera, Savill, & Brown, 2007;Beaune, 2015;Gross-Camp, Masozera, & Kaplin, 2009).…”

Section: Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)‐dominated clearings in the African highlands

Ssali

Moe

Sheil

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Considerable areas dominated by bracken Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn occur worldwide and are associated with arrested forest recovery. How forest recovery is impeded in these areas remains poorly understood, especially in the African highlands. The component processes that can lead to recruitment limitation—including low seed arrival, availability and persistence—are important determinants of plant communities and offer a potential explanation for bracken persistence. We investigated key processes that can contribute to recruitment limitation in bracken‐dominated clearings in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. We examined if differences in seed rain (dispersal limitation), soil seed bank, or seed removal (seed viability and persistence) can, individually or in combination, explain the differences in tree regeneration found between bracken‐dominated areas and the neighboring forest. These processes were assessed along ten 50‐m transects crossing the forest–bracken boundary. When compared to the neighboring forest, bracken clearings had fewer seedlings (bracken 11,557 ± 5482 vs. forest 34,515 ± 6066 seedlings/ha), lower seed rain (949 ± 582 vs. 1605 ± 335 tree seeds m−2 year−1), comparable but sparse soil seed bank (304 ± 236 vs. 264 ± 99 viable tree seeds/m2), higher seed removal (70.1% ± 2.4% vs. 40.6% ± 2.4% over a 3‐day interval), and markedly higher rodent densities (25.7 ± 5.4 vs. 5.0 ± 1.6 rodents per 100 trapping sessions). Camera traps revealed that rodents were the dominant animals visiting the seeds in our seed removal study. Synthesis: Recruitment limitation contributes to both the slow recovery of forest in bracken‐dominated areas, and to the composition of the tree species that occur. Low seed arrival and low persistence of unburied seeds can both explain the reduced density of seedlings found in bracken versus neighboring forest. Seed removal, likely due to rodents, in particular appears sufficient to constrain forest recovery and impacts some species more severely than others.

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Section: Processesmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)‐dominated clearings in the African highlands

Ssali

Moe

Sheil

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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“…In restoration settings, in the landscape surrounding Las Cruces Biological Station, Costa Rica, seed rain shifted from a complete lack of tree seeds initially to a specific limitation on large-seeded, mature forest species over the first decade [54]. Accordingly, in deforested tropical mountains of Chulumani, Bolivia, seed limitation was particularly strong for large-seeded species [72]. Seed arrival of large-seeded species accounted for only 1% of the total seed pool in pastures of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, in the same area as this study [7].…”

Section: Limitation By Life History Dispersal Agent and Seed Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Attributes that Drive Dispersal and Establishment Limitation in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes

Peña-Domene

Martínez‐Garza

Ayestarán-Hernández

et al. 2018

Forests

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Factors that influence tropical-forest regeneration have been of interest across the tropics. We tested the degree of dispersal and establishment limitation of pioneer and non-pioneer tree species with different dispersal modes and seed sizes, using data on both seed fall and seedling establishment in primary forest, secondary forest, and pasture excluded from livestock. The study took place in a lowland tropical rain forest in southeastern Mexico. To calculate dispersal and establishment limitation, we used a density-weighted index that considers: (1) whether a seed or seedling of a given species has arrived in the sample area; and (2) the fraction of seeds or seedlings contributed by a given species relative to the total number of seeds or seedlings arriving at a sampling station. Dispersal limitation of non-pioneer species and animal-dispersed species decreased with succession. The secondary forest had less dispersal limitation for wind-dispersed pioneers than pasture, resulting in a dense aggregation of species with seeds dispersed by wind. Overall, establishment limitation differed between animal-dispersed and wind-dispersed species in the primary forest, and was negatively correlated with seed size. The low capacity of most species to arrive, germinate, and establish as seedlings in pastures slows succession back to forest. To overcome barriers to natural succession in pastures, transplanting seedlings of non-pioneer species is suggested because most of them show high dispersal and establishment limitation.

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“…, Saavedra et al. ). An open question is whether toucans or other large birds can effectively and predictably disperse large seeds into experimental plantings in agricultural landscapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restored connectivity facilitates recruitment by an endemic large‐seeded tree in a fragmented tropical landscape

Peña-Domene

Minor

Howe

2016

Ecology

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Many large-seeded Neotropical trees depend on a limited guild of animals for seed dispersal. Fragmented landscapes reduce animal abundance and movement, limiting seed dispersal between distant forest remnants. In 2006, experimental plantings were established in pasture to determine whether plantings enhance seed dispersal and, ultimately, seedling recruitment. We examined patterns of naturally recruited seedlings of Ocotea uxpanapana, a large-seeded bird-dispersed tree endemic to southern Mexico that occurs in the surrounding landscape. We used GIS and least-cost path analysis to ask: (1) Do restoration efforts alter recruitment patterns? (2) What is the importance of canopy cover and likely dispersal pathways to establishment? Patterns of seedling establishment indicated that dispersal agents crossed open pastures to wooded plots. Recruitment was greatest under woody canopies. Also, by reducing movement cost or risk for seed dispersers, wooded canopies increased influx of large, animal-dispersed seeds, thereby restoring a degree of functional connectivity to the landscape. Together, canopy openness and path distance from potential parent trees in the surrounding landscape explained 73% of the variance in O. uxpanapana seedling distribution. Preliminary results suggest that strategic fenced plantings in pastures increase dispersal and establishment of large-seeded trees, thereby accelerating forest succession in restorations and contributing to greater connectivity among forest fragments.

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Deforested habitats lack seeds of late‐successional and large‐seeded plant species in tropical montane forests

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)‐dominated clearings in the African highlands

Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)‐dominated clearings in the African highlands

Plant Attributes that Drive Dispersal and Establishment Limitation in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes

Restored connectivity facilitates recruitment by an endemic large‐seeded tree in a fragmented tropical landscape

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