Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas

The failure of seeds to arrive at all suitable sites (seed limitation) greatly affects plant distribution and abundance. In contrast to tropical forests, the degree of seed limitation in Neotropical savannas is unclear because empirical studies at the community level are scarce. We estimated seed li...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Salazar, A., Goldstein, G., Franco, A.C., Miralles-Wilhelm, F.
Formato: JOUR
Materias:
Cerrado
Seed dispersal
Seed removal
Seed viability
abundance
cerrado
longevity
Neotropical Region
savanna
seed dispersal
seed rain
topographic mapping
viability
woody plant
Brazil
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13850237_v213_n2_p273_Salazar
Aporte de:
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires
id todo:paper_13850237_v213_n2_p273_Salazar
record_format dspace
spelling todo:paper_13850237_v213_n2_p273_Salazar2023-10-03T16:12:01Z Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas Salazar, A. Goldstein, G. Franco, A.C. Miralles-Wilhelm, F. Cerrado Seed dispersal Seed removal Seed viability abundance cerrado longevity Neotropical Region savanna seed dispersal seed rain topographic mapping viability woody plant Brazil The failure of seeds to arrive at all suitable sites (seed limitation) greatly affects plant distribution and abundance. In contrast to tropical forests, the degree of seed limitation in Neotropical savannas is unclear because empirical studies at the community level are scarce. We estimated seed limitation of 23 woody species from annual seed rain measurements along a tree density gradient in the savannas of Central Brazil. These savannas differ in tree density and canopy cover, from closed to open savannas, and are located along shallow topographic gradients. We also studied post-dispersal seed predation and removal of 17 representative woody species, and seed viability loss over time of 12 common woody species under dry-storage conditions. Annual seed rain was lower in open (410 seeds/m 2) than in closed savannas (773 seeds/m 2). Average seed limitation across woody species was higher than 80% along the tree density gradient. More than 60% of seeds of the studied woody species were predated or removed within 30-45 days in all savannah types. Seeds of most common woody species (66%) lost their viability in less than 12 months of dry storage. This study shows that Neotropical savannah woody plants are strongly seed-limited because of low and poor distribution of seeds among sites, post-dispersal seed removal, and short seed longevity. The high seed limitation of tree species in Neotropical savannas, particularly in open savannas, also may contribute to maintain their relatively low tree densities and help to explain the spatial variation of tree abundance along topographic gradients. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. Fil:Goldstein, G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13850237_v213_n2_p273_Salazar
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Cerrado
Seed dispersal
Seed removal
Seed viability
abundance
cerrado
longevity
Neotropical Region
savanna
seed dispersal
seed rain
topographic mapping
viability
woody plant
Brazil
spellingShingle Cerrado
Seed dispersal
Seed removal
Seed viability
abundance
cerrado
longevity
Neotropical Region
savanna
seed dispersal
seed rain
topographic mapping
viability
woody plant
Brazil
Salazar, A.
Goldstein, G.
Franco, A.C.
Miralles-Wilhelm, F.
Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
topic_facet Cerrado
Seed dispersal
Seed removal
Seed viability
abundance
cerrado
longevity
Neotropical Region
savanna
seed dispersal
seed rain
topographic mapping
viability
woody plant
Brazil
description The failure of seeds to arrive at all suitable sites (seed limitation) greatly affects plant distribution and abundance. In contrast to tropical forests, the degree of seed limitation in Neotropical savannas is unclear because empirical studies at the community level are scarce. We estimated seed limitation of 23 woody species from annual seed rain measurements along a tree density gradient in the savannas of Central Brazil. These savannas differ in tree density and canopy cover, from closed to open savannas, and are located along shallow topographic gradients. We also studied post-dispersal seed predation and removal of 17 representative woody species, and seed viability loss over time of 12 common woody species under dry-storage conditions. Annual seed rain was lower in open (410 seeds/m 2) than in closed savannas (773 seeds/m 2). Average seed limitation across woody species was higher than 80% along the tree density gradient. More than 60% of seeds of the studied woody species were predated or removed within 30-45 days in all savannah types. Seeds of most common woody species (66%) lost their viability in less than 12 months of dry storage. This study shows that Neotropical savannah woody plants are strongly seed-limited because of low and poor distribution of seeds among sites, post-dispersal seed removal, and short seed longevity. The high seed limitation of tree species in Neotropical savannas, particularly in open savannas, also may contribute to maintain their relatively low tree densities and help to explain the spatial variation of tree abundance along topographic gradients. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
format JOUR
author Salazar, A.
Goldstein, G.
Franco, A.C.
Miralles-Wilhelm, F.
author_facet Salazar, A.
Goldstein, G.
Franco, A.C.
Miralles-Wilhelm, F.
author_sort Salazar, A.
title Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
title_short Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
title_full Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
title_fullStr Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
title_full_unstemmed Seed limitation of woody plants in Neotropical savannas
title_sort seed limitation of woody plants in neotropical savannas
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_13850237_v213_n2_p273_Salazar
work_keys_str_mv AT salazara seedlimitationofwoodyplantsinneotropicalsavannas
AT goldsteing seedlimitationofwoodyplantsinneotropicalsavannas
AT francoac seedlimitationofwoodyplantsinneotropicalsavannas
AT miralleswilhelmf seedlimitationofwoodyplantsinneotropicalsavannas
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