Limitations on tree seedling establishment across ecotones between abandoned fields and adjacent broad-leaved forests in eastern Japan

Field abandonment has increased over several decades under a long-term recession in Japanese agriculture. To support effective farmland management or reforestation, the patterns of tree recruitment in abandoned fields, which influence management costs, need to be clarified. We investigated tree seedling establishment and microsite variables along forest–field transects in 11 abandoned fields adjacent to secondary broad-leaved forests in the eastern Kanto region of Japan. Generalized linear mixed model analysis indicated that tree seedling establishment in abandoned fields was not correlated with the period of abandonment. Instead, it was positively correlated with vegetation openness. The dominance of a woody vine (Pueraria lobata), an annual liana (Humulus japonicus), and a dwarf bamboo (Pleioblastus chino) mainly explained low vegetation openness within the fields. In addition, the establishment of evergreen tree seedlings and tree seedlings dispersed by hoarding was negatively correlated with the distance from the forest edge. In the forest interior, taller understory vegetation at the edge correlated with lower seedling establishment. These results suggest that seedling establishment across forest–field ecotones is restricted by the dominance of competitive natives within abandoned fields and distance-dependent limitations in both abandoned fields and adjacent forest.