Seed bank dynamics in five Panamanian forests

Fornara, Dario; Dalling, James W.

doi:10.1017/s0266467404002184

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The animal-dispersed seeds, Artocarpus , Syzygium and Nephelium , all had very high levels of handling in forest (99–100%), but lower levels in non-forest (30–50%), while the wind-dispersed Combretocarpus had the lowest levels in both habitats. Low rates of seed handling have been reported for wind-dispersed species in other studies 29 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Post-dispersal seed removal by ground-feeding rodents in tropical peatlands, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Blackham

Corlett

2015

Sci Rep

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Forested tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia are being rapidly converted to agriculture or degraded into non-forest vegetation. Although large areas have been abandoned, there is little evidence for subsequent forest recovery. As part of a study of forest degradation and recovery, we used seed removal experiments and rodent surveys to investigate the potential role of post-dispersal seed predation in limiting the regeneration of woody plants. Two 14-day seed removal trials were done in deforested and forested peatland habitat in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Seeds of Nephelium lappaceum, Syzygium muelleri, Artocarpus heterophyllus (all animal-dispersed) and Combretocarpus rotundatus (wind-dispersed) were tested. Significantly more seeds (82.8%) were removed in forest than non-forest (38.1%) and Combretocarpus had the lowest removal in both habitats. Most handled seeds were eaten in situ and little caching was observed. Six species of rodents were captured in forest and five in non-forest. The most trapped taxa were three Maxomys spp. in forest (85.5% of individuals) and Rattus tiomanicus in non-forest (74.8%). Camera traps confirmed that rodents were responsible for seed removal. Seed predation in deforested areas, which have a much lower seed rain than forest, may contribute to the low density and diversity of regenerating forest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Post-dispersal seed removal by ground-feeding rodents in tropical peatlands, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Blackham

Corlett

2015

Sci Rep

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“…opening of canopy gaps). Intrinsic rates of loss in seed viability following dispersal and variation in the timing and duration of fruit production also influence soil seed-bank densities (Dalling et al, 1997;Dalling, 2004;Fornara and Dalling, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing of seed dispersal and dormancy, rather than persistent soil seed-banks, control seedling recruitment of woody plants in Neotropical savannas

et al. 2011

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A large fraction of tree species forming persistent soil seed-banks and with dormant seeds are expected to be found in strongly seasonal ecosystems such as Neotropical savannas, where seedling recruitment could be highly variable. In the savannas of Central Brazil, we studied seed characteristics (type of dormancy, longevity and moisture content) of 14 representative woody species differing in seed dispersal season. We also studied the dynamics of soil seed-banks and similarity patterns in woody species composition among seed rain, soil seed-bank, seedling bank and standing vegetation along shallow topographic gradients that differ in canopy cover. Woody species composition of the soil seed-bank largely differed from the standing vegetation, the seed rain and the seedling bank species composition, suggesting low recruitment of woody species from the soil seed-bank. Seeds of the 14 woody species remained viable for less than 16 months in laboratory dry-storage conditions. Of those, most seeds dispersed in the dry season were dormant and exhibited low moisture content, while most seeds dispersed in the wet season were non-dormant and exhibited high moisture content. Longevity of these seeds dispersed in the dry and the wet seasons did not differ significantly. This study shows that both timing of seed dispersal and dormancy appear to control timing of seed germination and seedling recruitment of most Neotropical savanna woody species, which did not form persistent soil seed-banks. This study contributes to the understanding of tree/grass coexistence and tree density variations along topographic gradients in tropical savannas.

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“…A methodologically similar study of the seed bank in a Cameroonian rain forest by Da€ ınou et al and Chapman (1997) recorded just 73 seeds per square meter in Uganda using a 1 mm sieve, whereas 4220 seeds per square meter were recorded from the top 10 cm of soil from Ethiopian Afromontane plantations in emergence experiments by Lemenih and Teketay (2005). Our sampling was at the end of the wet season when a peak in seed production and therefore seed bank density may be expected (Garwood 1989, Chandrashekara & Ramakrishnan 1993, Fornara & Dalling 2005, whereas Da€ ınou et al…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Chapman and Chapman () recorded just 73 seeds per square meter in Uganda using a 1 mm sieve, whereas 4220 seeds per square meter were recorded from the top 10 cm of soil from Ethiopian Afromontane plantations in emergence experiments by Lemenih and Teketay (). Our sampling was at the end of the wet season when a peak in seed production and therefore seed bank density may be expected (Garwood , Chandrashekara & Ramakrishnan , Fornara & Dalling ), whereas Daïnou et al . () and Chapman and Chapman () focused on the period of lowest seed production to reduce the contribution from very recent seed rain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Seed and Fern Spore Bank of a Recovering African Tropical Forest

et al. 2014

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Seed banks contribute to forest regeneration after disturbance, but less is known about fern spore banks, particularly in a paleotropical context. We sampled the buried seed and fern spore bank in Mabira Forest, a 300 km 2 forest in central Uganda, to explore the effect of time since disturbance. Soil cores (5 cm depth) were taken from 39 plots across three different classes of 'recovery': (1) not disturbed since 1950; (2) logged between 1950 and 1980; and (3) cleared for agriculture between 1970 and 1990 but reforested since. Plant emergence was monitored in a glasshouse. We predicted that the seed bank would reflect time since disturbance, with more pioneer species in recently disturbed stands, and that the fern spore bank would reflect stand age less closely due to greater dispersal capacity. We recorded a median 752 seeds per square meter, most of which were trees; the most abundant species was the invasive tree Broussonetia papyrifera. The fern spore bank was twice as dense, but 95 percent of fern spores were of one species, Christella parasitica. Tree seed density was significantly affected by time since disturbance with fewer seeds in the older stands. Herb seed density, fern spore density, and species richness for all groups were not significantly affected by time since disturbance. Neither seed bank nor fern spore bank closely resembled the aboveground vegetation. We compared our results to existing literature on seed banks in tropical forests, finding that our densities are relatively high for African forests, but low compared to the Neotropics and Australia.Abstract in French is available in the online version of this article.

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Seed bank dynamics in five Panamanian forests

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

Post-dispersal seed removal by ground-feeding rodents in tropical peatlands, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Post-dispersal seed removal by ground-feeding rodents in tropical peatlands, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Timing of seed dispersal and dormancy, rather than persistent soil seed-banks, control seedling recruitment of woody plants in Neotropical savannas

The Seed and Fern Spore Bank of a Recovering African Tropical Forest

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