Systematic reduction in seed rain of large‐seeded and endozoochorous species in pastures compared to forests along a tropical elevational gradient

Questions How do seed rain biomass and richness change from old‐growth tropical forests to pastures at different elevations? How do seed mass and seed dispersal mode change from forests to pastures across these elevations? What implications do these changes have for the recovery of deforested areas...

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Published in:Applied vegetation science 2024-04, Vol.27 (2), p.n/a
Main Authors: Acosta‐Rojas, Diana Carolina, Barczyk, Maciej K., Espinosa, Carlos Iván, Tinoco, Boris A., Neuschulz, Eike Lena, Schleuning, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural land
Biomass
Deforestation
Dispersal
Ecuador
endozoochory
Forests
functional traits
Livestock
Montane environments
Mountain forests
Mountains
National parks
Pasture
Pastures
Population decline
Rain
Restoration
Seed dispersal
seed dispersal limitation
seed dispersal mode
Seeds
Traps
Tropical forests
tropical montane forests
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Summary:Questions How do seed rain biomass and richness change from old‐growth tropical forests to pastures at different elevations? How do seed mass and seed dispersal mode change from forests to pastures across these elevations? What implications do these changes have for the recovery of deforested areas in tropical mountains? Location Old‐growth montane forests and livestock pastures along an elevational gradient (1,000–3,000 m a.s.l.), located at Podocarpus National Park, San Francisco Reserve and surrounding agricultural lands, Andes of southern Ecuador. Methods We collected seed rain for a 3‐month period using 324 traps installed at eighteen 1‐ha plots across elevations. Half of the traps were installed in nine 1‐ha forest plots, and the other half in nine 1‐ha pasture plots. For each trap, we identified the seeds and measured seed rain biomass and richness. We also recorded seed traits and calculated community‐weighted means of seed mass and seed dispersal mode (proportion of endozoochory). Results Forests received a higher seed rain biomass than pastures, but only at the lowest elevation. Seed rain richness did not differ between habitat types at all elevations. Community‐weighted means of seed mass and the proportion of endozoochorous species declined from forests to pastures, especially at the lower elevations. Conclusions Although seed rain biomass and richness were overall similar between forests and pastures, large‐seeded and endozoochorous species were generally poorly represented in the seed rain of pastures compared with that of forests. These findings show that biomass and richness of seed rain may be insufficient to quantify the restoration potential of natural seed rain in deforested areas. Information on seed traits, such as seed mass and seed dispersal mode, is important to optimize restoration efforts towards the regeneration of diverse old‐growth forests along elevational gradients in tropical mountains. By analyzing variation in seed rain among old‐growth montane forests and livestock pastures along a 2,000 m elevational gradient in the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador, this study reveals that large seeds and endozoochorous species are less prevalent in seed rain from pastures compared to seed rain from forests at the same elevation.
ISSN:1402-2001
1654-109X
DOI:10.1111/avsc.12780