Article
Entomology
Mary Schultz, Robert J. Warren, James Costa, Beverly Collins, Mark Bradford
Summary: Anthropogenic disturbance can decrease woodland diversity, particularly impacting ant-dispersed plants. However, the abundance of myrmecochorous plants and their keystone seed-dispersing ants increases with time since the last disturbance. Moreover, the bait pattern and frequency do not significantly affect ant foraging interest.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Koki Tanaka, Makoto Tokuda
Summary: This study found that ants can disperse seeds along forest roadsides in warm temperate forests, with different ant species showing varying efficiency and preferences. The dispersal of seeds by ants has significant implications for seed regeneration in these forests.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Hui Yao, Yanpei Bai, Yuan Chen, Haochun Chen, Wanji Yang, Xiangdong Ruan, Zuofu Xiang
Summary: Research suggests that colobine monkeys mainly disperse small seeds through potential endozoochory, especially seeds from multi-seeded fruits, which enhances plant recruitment by promoting seedling growth.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Forestry
Moonil Kim, Seonghun Lee, Songhee Lee, Koong Yi, Hyung-Sub Kim, Sanghoon Chung, Junmo Chung, Hyun Seop Kim, Tae Kyung Yoon
Summary: Natural regeneration in forest management is considered a desirable alternative to reforestation, but there are uncertainties in the natural regeneration processes, especially seed dispersal by wind. This study reviews the mechanisms and applications of seed dispersal models and suggests prospects for improving the predictability of natural regeneration. The development of wind-dispersal models has progressed from simple empirical models to more complex mechanistic models, but their application in natural regeneration is limited. Incorporating factors such as seed abscission mechanisms, complex wind environments, collisions during seed flight, and secondary dispersal could enhance seed dispersal models and improve the prediction of its impact on natural regeneration.
Article
Ecology
Andrea J. E. Mulder, Roland Aalderen, Casper H. A. Leeuwen
Summary: The study reveals that common carp can locally disperse plant seeds with high probabilities, and over distances up to 16 km with low probabilities throughout temperate ecosystems. This ecosystem function of fish to plants requires intact fish populations and unrestricted connectivity throughout aquatic ecosystems.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Robert Emerson Clark
Summary: Food-for-dispersal mutualisms are critical sources of energy flow in ecological networks. The impact of nutrients provided by seed appendages called elaiosomes on ants and the resilience of this mutualism to disruptions in food sources are not clear. A long-term removal of elaiosome food sources for ants resulted in modest reductions in ant-dispersed plant coverage, but did not impact ant abundance five years later. As long as surrounding populations of understory forest plants are maintained, mutualistic ants may rebound from a short-term reduction in elaiosome production.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fei Yu, Jiaxin Li, Linjun Zhang, Ganggang Zhang, Yueqin Yang, Yang Wang, Xianfeng Yi
Summary: The Grain-for-Green Program in China is effective for protecting the ecological environment and mitigating disasters. This study compared the effects of different types of vegetation restoration on the rodent abundance, seed dispersal, and seedling recruitment in a forest in the Taihang Mountains. The results showed that the Grain-for-Green forest had similar effects to the natural forest in terms of rodent composition and abundance, but had higher seed removal rate and dispersal distance compared to abandoned cropland, indicating its potential for providing seed dispersal service and contributing to vegetation restoration and biodiversity conservation.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jorg Brunet, Per-Ola Hedwall, Jessica Lindgren, Sara A. O. Cousins
Summary: Research indicates that post-arable oak plantations have great potential for restoring forest herb vegetation. Plant traits related to dispersal play a key role in explaining interspecific differences among forest specialists. To facilitate forest herb immigration in agricultural landscapes, the creation of clusters of relatively small new forest patches near older forests with source populations is recommended.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Miriam Soledad Vazquez, Mariano A. Rodriguez-Cabal, Guillermo C. Amico
Summary: The arboreal marsupial D. gliroides plays a crucial role as a seed disperser in the Patagonian temperate forest, enhancing the germination rate of various plant species. It disperses a wide range of plants, including epiphytes, vines, parasites, trees, and shrubs, highlighting its importance for the conservation of the endemic flora in the region.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Jakelyne S. Bezerra, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Juan Manuel Dupuy-Rada, Inara R. Leal, Marcelo Tabarelli
Summary: Agricultural activities, such as slash-and-burn farming, pose a threat to the recovery potential of forests in human-modified landscapes. This is due to the disruption of critical sources of forest regeneration, including seed rain. The hypothesis that slash-and-burn agriculture promotes seed source and seed dispersal limitation remains poorly tested.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Cristina Gasperini, Kurt Bollmann, Jorg Brunet, Sara A. O. Cousins, Guillaume Decocq, Karen De Pauw, Martin Diekmann, Sanne Govaert, Bente J. Graae, Per-Ola Hedwall, Giovanni Iacopetti, Jonathan Lenoir, Sigrid Lindmo, Camille Meeussen, Anna Orczewska, Quentin Ponette, Jan Plue, Pieter Sanczuk, Fabien Spicher, Thomas Vanneste, Pieter Vangansbeke, Florian Zellweger, Federico Selvi, Pieter De Frenne
Summary: This study assessed the edge effects on the soil seed bank of temperate forests in Europe and found that seed density and species richness were higher at forest edges compared to interiors, but the richness of forest specialist species did not decline from the interior to the edge.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jakelyne S. Bezerra, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Jonathan M. Tavares, Mauro G. Santos, Jorge A. Meave, Inara R. Leal, Marcelo Tabarelli
Summary: Seed rain is crucial for forest recovery, but seed viability has been overlooked in most studies. The study found that seed viability was higher in burned plots than in control plots, which may be attributed to the functional traits of the seeds.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alistair G. Auffret, Pieter Vangansbeke, Pieter De Frenne, Inger Auestad, Sofia Basto, Ulf Grandin, Hans Jacquemyn, Anna Jakobsson, Rein Kalamees, Marcus A. Koch, Rob Marrs, Bryndis Marteinsdottir, Markus Wagner, Renee M. Bekker, Hans Henrik Bruun, Guillaume Decocq, Martin Hermy, Malgorzata Jankowska-Blaszczuk, Per Milberg, Inger E. Maren, Robin J. Pakeman, Gareth K. Phoenix, Ken Thompson, Hans Van Calster, Vigdis Vandvik, Jan Plue
Summary: Responses to climate change often lag behind warming rates. Soil seed banks can buffer unsuitable conditions, containing species with warm and wide climatic ranges. Seed banks may play a role in climate-driven community shifts and the spread of generalist species.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Jakelyne S. Bezerra, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Jonathan M. Tavares, Adrielle Leal, Inara R. Leal, Marcelo Tabarelli
Summary: Forest ecosystems are threatened by unsustainable agricultural practices, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, which can negatively impact the soil seed bank and limit forest resilience. A study in a tropical dry forest in Brazil showed that fire from slash-and-burn agriculture decreased seed viability, diversity, and composition, leading to homogenization of seed assemblages. This highlights the low resistance of the soil seed bank to this farming method, suggesting that other processes like seed dispersal and resprouting are crucial for the recovery of species-rich tropical forests exposed to slash-and-burn agriculture.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cristina Gasperini, Elisa Carrari, Sanne Govaert, Camille Meeussen, Karen De Pauw, Jan Plue, Pieter Sanczuk, Thomas Vanneste, Pieter Vangansbeke, Giovanni Jacopetti, Pieter De Frenne, Federico Selvi
Summary: The research revealed a high proportion of generalist species in both the edge and interior forest seed banks, with variations in seedling density, species diversity, and mortality based on region and elevation. The warming simulation experiments showed thermophilization effects on forest seed banks, while edge conditions shifted seedling composition towards more light-demanding communities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)