| Autor: |
Estrada-Villegas S; Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458, USA.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá., Stevenson PR; CIEM, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia 111711., López O; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.; Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panamá, Panamá., DeWalt SJ; Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA., Comita LS; Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá., Dent DH; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.; Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour, Konstanz 78315, Germany.; Deptartment of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich 8902, Switzerland. |
| Abstrakt: |
Seed dispersal by animals is key for restoration of tropical forests because it maintains plant diversity and accelerates community turnover. Therefore, changes in seed dispersal during forest restoration can indicate the recovery of species interactions, and yet these changes are rarely considered in forest restoration planning. In this study, we examined shifts in the importance of different seed dispersal modes during passive restoration in a tropical chronosequence spanning more than 100 years, by modelling the proportion of trees dispersed by bats, small birds, large birds, flightless mammals and abiotic means as a function of forest age. Contrary to expectations, tree species dispersed by flightless mammals dominated after 20 years of regeneration, and tree richness and abundance dispersed by each mode mostly recovered to old growth levels between 40 and 70 years post-abandonment. Seed dispersal by small birds declined over time during regeneration, while bat dispersal played a minor role throughout all stages of succession. Results suggest that proximity to old growth forests, coupled with low hunting, explained the prevalence of seed dispersal by animals, especially by flightless mammals at this site. We suggest that aspects of seed dispersal should be monitored when restoring forest ecosystems to evaluate the reestablishment of species interactions. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'. |
