Carnivore endozoochory of a dry-fruited tree can benefit quarry passive restoration

Abstract

Implications for practice: Restorers can undertake pilot sowing experiments prior to large scale revegetation campaigns to identify which species can benefit the most from endozoochory. Carnivores in the surroundings of a quarry contribute a large proportion of viable seeds, likely assisting quarry passive restoration. Carnivores ingesting carob seeds later in the fruiting season may assist quarry passive revegetation more readily as seeds ingested around that time emerge earlier. Immersion in tap water is a simple, inexpensive, and a highly efficient method to break physical dormancy when carob seed sowings are to be carried out in degraded sites.3 Abstract:As practitioners promote passive restoration as a complementary approach to technical reclamation, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms such as endozoochory. Although the consequences of endozoochory can be crucial to passive restoration success, few experimental studies assess the use of heavily disturbed sites by seed dispersers such as carnivores and how the seeds they bring in emerge and survive. Using an indoor sowing experiment conducted in a quarry located within a natural park in Portugal, we examined for the first time how carnivore endozoochorous seeds collected in the quarry potentially influence its passive restoration, through effects on plant emergence and survival. Also, we tested whether sowing date and water soaking, relevant factors when sowings are to be carried out, would affect seedling emergence and survival rates when compared with the effect of endozoochory. Most interesting in our analysis were the results for Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), a dry-fruited species that was also being used in an artificial revegetation action at the quarry. Irrespective of the carnivore species, endozoochorous carob seeds performed similarly to untreated seeds regarding emergence rates. Endozoochorous carob seedlings showed greater mortality rates but the net result for the plant can still be the colonization of recently vacant habitats by a large proportion of viable seeds. The later carob seeds were sown, the faster seedlings emerged, including endozoochorous seedlings. Water soaking increased emergence rate by 6.5 times. Broadly, plantings, sowings with previous soaking, and carnivore-mediated seed dispersal of this dry-fruited tree can jointly enhance quarry restoration.