Seed-deposition and recruitment patterns of Clusia species in a disturbed tropical montane forest in Bolivia |
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Institution: | 1. Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor1, 06108 Halle, Germany;2. Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt (Main), Germany;3. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario, Cota Cota c. 27, La Paz, Bolivia;4. German Center of Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany;1. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, Zhejiang Province, China;2. School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;1. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A. C., Calle 43 Núm. 130, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida, 97205, Yucatán, Mexico;2. Instituto de Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Avenida División del Golfo Núm. 356, Colonia Libertad, Ciudad Victoria, 87019, Tamaulipas, Mexico;3. Functional Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Box 2503, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany;1. Department of Geobotany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, ul Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland;2. European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ul Tylna 3, 90-364 Łódź, Poland;3. Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, ul. Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Łódź, Poland;1. Biogeography, Trier University, D-54286 Trier, Germany;2. Haus der Natur Salzburg, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria;3. Senckenberg German Entomological Institute, D-15374 Müncheberg, Germany;4. Entomology, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D-06099 Halle (Saale), Germany;1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, Campinas, SP CEP 13083-970, Brazil;2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, Campinas, SP CEP 13083-970, Brazil;3. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, Campinas, SP CEP 13083-970, Brazil |
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Abstract: | Spatial patterns of seed dispersal and recruitment of fleshy-fruited plants in tropical forests are supposed to be driven by the activity of animal seed dispersers, but the spatial patterns of seed dispersal, seedlings and saplings have rarely been analyzed simultaneously. We studied seed deposition and recruitment patterns of three Clusia species in a tropical montane forest of the Bolivian Andes and tested whether these patterns changed between habitat types (forest edge vs. forest interior), distance to the fruiting tree and consecutive recruitment stages of the seedlings. We recorded the number of seeds deposited in seed traps to assess the local seed-deposition pattern and the abundance and distribution of seedlings and saplings to evaluate the spatial pattern of recruitment. More seeds were removed and deposited at the forest edge than in the interior. The number of deposited seeds decreased with distance from the fruiting tree and was spatially clustered in both habitat types. The density of 1-yr-old seedlings and saplings was higher at forest edges, whereas the density of 2-yr-old seedlings was similar in both habitat types. While seedlings were almost randomly distributed, seeds and saplings were spatially clustered in both habitat types. Our findings demonstrate systematic changes in spatial patterns of recruits across the plant regeneration cycle and suggest that the differential effects of biotic and abiotic factors determine plant recruitment at the edges and in the interior of tropical montane forests. These differences in the spatial distribution of individuals across recruitment stages may have strong effects on plant community dynamics and influence plant species coexistence in disturbed tropical forests. |
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Keywords: | Forest edge Frugivorous birds Recruitment stages Seed dispersal Seedling establishment |
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