Seed predation patterns favor the regeneration of dominant species in forest gaps compared with the understory in an oak-pine mixed forest

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated the higher likelihood of regeneration in forest gaps compared with the understory for the dominant species in pine-oak mixed forest. Here, we tested whether rodent seed predation or dispersal was beneficial for gap regeneration. We tracked the seed predation and dispersal of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata and Pinus armandii using coded plastic tags in the forest understory close to gaps. Our results demonstrated that the proportions of initial buried seeds of both species were significantly more abundant in the forest understory compared with gaps. After seed caching, however, significantly lower proportions of the seeds of both species survived in the forest understory compared with gaps during the 30-day observation period. The final survival proportions of the seeds cached in the forest understory were lower than those cached in the gaps the next spring, which indicated that small rodents rarely retrieved scatter-hoarded seeds from forest gaps. Our findings suggest that rodent seed predation patterns contribute to the regeneration of the dominant species in gaps compared with the understory in a pine-oak mixed forest. In the study area, reforestation usually involves planting seedlings but direct sowing in forest gaps may be an alternative means of accelerating forest recovery and successional processes.

Savanna Rodents’ Selective Removal of an Encroaching Plant’s Seeds Increased With Grass Biomass

“…Through the removal of seeds, rodents can decrease seedling recruitment (Ostfeld et al, 1997;Nuñez et al, 2008;Yu et al, 2014) and the density of adult plants (Maron and Kauffman, 2006;Larios et al, 2017), altering composition (Louda, 1982;Pearson et al, 2012Pearson et al, , 2013 and shaping vegetation (Brown and Heske, 1990;Edwards and Crawley, 1999;Moorhead, 2017). In our savanna system, rodents have the potential to reduce the recruitment of woody encroaching plants; however, we did not consider the role of other herbivores.…”

Rodent‐mediated plant seed dispersal: What happens to the seeds after entering the gaps with different sizes?

“…Indeed, the scatter‐hoarding of seeds in suitable sites by rodents enhances the probability of seedling settlement (Vander Wall, 2001 ; Yu et al, 2015 , 2017 ). Many factors may affect the quality and effectiveness of seed dispersal by animals, such as the microhabitat in the caching site (Wang & Corlett, 2017 ; Yang et al, 2016 ; Yu et al, 2014 ).…”

Physical defence of the wild cucumber Echinocystis lobata in an invasive range changing seed removal by rodents

“…Loss of developed seeds is a substantial cause of mortality in plants (Nathan and Casagrandi 2004). Seed predators have an important impact on seed survival, and thus affect plant population dynamics and community structure (Janzen 1970;van Klinken and White 2014;Yu et al 2014). New adaptation protecting seeds against seed predators and enhancing the probability of their successful germination should be positively selected.…”

“…For many plant species, rodents are the most important post-dispersal seed predators, with a significant negative effect on seed banks, seedling recruitment, and establishment of plant regeneration patterns (Nuñez et al 2008;Pearson et al 2014;Zwolak et al 2016). Moreover, small mammals may notably affect the structure of populations and the incidence of plant species in many ecosystems (van Klinken and White 2014; Yu et al 2014).…”