Seed rain in a tropical agricultural landscape

Seed dispersal into fragmented tropical landscapes limits the rate and character of ecological succession between forest remnants. In a novel experiment in recovery of dispersal between forest remnants, 120 1-m(2) seed traps were placed in fenced plots in active pasture 90-250 m from forest, and in nearby primary and secondary forests. Total seed rain from December 2006 to January 2008 included 69 135 seeds of 57 woody species. High richness of seed rain of early-successional trees occurred in all habitats, but seed rain of late-successional woody plants was much lower into pastures and secondary Forest than into old-growth forest. Non-metric ordination analysis further demonstrated high movement of late-successional species within and between forest and secondary forest, but little movement of species of either forest type to pastures. Most Species were dispersed by animals, but most seeds were dispersed by wind. A pattern of seed rain biased strongly towards wind-dispersed species creates a template for regeneration quite unlike that in nearby forest.