Seed Deposition by Birds on Artificial Perches at Different Distances From a Gallery Forest in the Cerrado Area

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the deposition of seeds under artificial perches located at different distances from a gallery forest in the Cerrado area in the city of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The experiment was carried out at the Fazenda Escola Três Barras where 20 crude eucalyptus artificial perches were deployed at distances of 10, 20, 40 and 80 meters from the edge of a 400 meter long forest. Data collection was performed every two weeks for a period of one year. A bird survey was carried out at the same time and a total of 190 hours of direct observation were made. Overall, 21,283 seeds were collected beneath the perches; these came from 27 plant species, with the most abundant representation from the pioneer tree species Cecropia pachystachya, Miconia elegans and Myrsine coriacea (93.31% of total seeds). The survey of birds identified 77 species, with a predominance of insectivorous and omnivorous types. The results indicated that perches installed at the greatest distance from the forest area yielded a lower seed deposition rate, demonstrating that distance determines the effectiveness of the artificial perches, although they are still able to attract some bird species. The results of the experiment demonstrated that use of artificial perches is an effective method to promote the deposition of seeds in areas without tree vegetation, favoring the creation of a seed bank. Keywords: Frugivory, nucleation, seed rain, seed dispersal. Resumo Deposição de sementes por aves sob poleiros artificiais a diferentes distâncias de mata de galeria em área deCerrado. Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa avaliar a deposição de sementes sob poleiros artificiais posicionados a diferentes distâncias de um trecho de mata de galeria, em área de Cerrado no município de Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. O experimento foi conduzido na Fazenda Escola Três Barras, onde foram implantados 20 poleiros artificiais de eucalipto bruto em distâncias de 10, 20, 40 e 80 metros da borda de um trecho de 400 metros da mata. A coleta de dados foi realizada quinzenalmente durante o período de um ano, abrangendo um ciclo sazonal. Paralelamente foi realizado um levantamento da avifauna que totalizou 190 horas de observação direta. Nos poleiros foram recolhidas 21.283 sementes, pertencentes a 27 espécies vegetais, sendo as mais representativas as arbóreas pioneiras Cecropia pachystachya, Miconia elegans e Myrsine coriacea, com 93,31% do total. Em relação as aves foram registradas 77 espécies com o predomínio de insetívoras e onívoras. Os resultados indicaram que apenas os poleiros instalados a maiores intervalos da área de mata apresentaram uma menor deposição de sementes, demonstrando que a partir de determinadas distâncias, os poleiros artificiais são menos eficazes, embora ainda sejam capazes de atrair algumas espécies de aves. Os resultados do experimento demonstraram que a utilização de poleiros artificiais é uma metodologia eficaz para promover a deposição de sementes em áreas sem vegetação arb...

Artificial perches for the supply of seeds in a fragmented landscape in southwest Brazilian Amazon

“…The fact that we found greater species richness and abundance, and a distinct species composition at the more distant artificial perches is an interesting result, because it indicates that these areas are likely to form a heterogeneous forest. In a study of artificial perches installed at different distances from the edge of a gallery forest in the Cerrado biome, Oliveira et al (2018) found that the perches at a distance of 80 m from the forest edge had fewer seeds than those closer to the forest. This indicates that factors such as the type of vegetation in the surrounding matrix, the structure of the landscape, and the composition of the local bird community may influence the input of seeds from artificial perches installed in areas of non-forest vegetation (Nathan et al 2003;Rudge 2008;Dias et al 2014;Oliveira et al 2018).…”

“…In a study of artificial perches installed at different distances from the edge of a gallery forest in the Cerrado biome, Oliveira et al (2018) found that the perches at a distance of 80 m from the forest edge had fewer seeds than those closer to the forest. This indicates that factors such as the type of vegetation in the surrounding matrix, the structure of the landscape, and the composition of the local bird community may influence the input of seeds from artificial perches installed in areas of non-forest vegetation (Nathan et al 2003;Rudge 2008;Dias et al 2014;Oliveira et al 2018). In other words, there is no standard configuration of perches, and the biotic characteristics of each location must be evaluated carefully prior to the implementation of programs of environmental restoration that use artificial perches as triggers of nucleation (Holl 1998;Reis et al 2003;Holl and Aide 2011;Graham and Page 2012).…”

“…Dispersal is the movement of a seed or spore, disseminating individuals into or out of the population or area (Odum and Barret 2007). This process influences the spatial distribution and population dynamics of plants, their occupation of new habitats, and the maintenance of biodiversity, affecting ecological succession, regeneration, and environmental conservation (Wang and Smith 2002).…”

Vertebrate‐mediated seed rain and artificial perches contribute to overcome seed dispersal limitation in a Mediterranean old field

“…Distance to the source of seeds has been identified as a key factor in determining seed rain intensity, with most seeds falling close to the source (Cubiña & Aide ; Parejo et al ; Oliveira et al ). However, in our study, distance neither influenced seed rain density nor richness.…”

Survival, seedlings growth and natural regeneration in areas under ecological restoration in a sandy coastal plain (restinga) of southeastern Brazil

“…The use of artificial perches as useful nucleation technique for restoration has been reported by several authors for different vegetation types elsewhere, for example Holl (1998) in tropical pastures, Shiels and Walker (2003) for Puerto Rican landslides, Espíndola and Reis (2009) in a Southern Brazilian restinga, Tres and Reis (2009) in riparian forest in Atlantic Forest, Cavallero et al (2013) in post fire areas in Argentina, Vogel et al (2016) in a subtropical agroecosystem, Oliveira et al (2018) in the brazilian Cerrado, Alencar and Guilherme (2020) in Amazon, Iguatemy et al (2020) in Atlantic forest and Freeman et al (2021) in Northeastern Australia.…”