Affiliation:
1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No 8701, Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de la Huerta, Morelia 58090, Mexico
Abstract
I investigated the size, composition and persistence of the seed-bank in primary forests, secondary forests and old-fields in southern Mexico. I also assessed the contribution of the seed-bank to regeneration relative to other propagule sources. In all habitats, I removed by hand all plants and litter and excluded the seed-rain. For one year, I counted the number of plant species (5–50 cm tall) emerged and grouped them into different growth-forms: trees, shrubs, palms, herbs, woody lianas, epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes. A total of 95 species emerged. The seed-bank size, composition and persistence showed strong variation among successional stages. Emergence was low for primary and secondary forests, but high for old-fields (19, 26, and 68 plants per m−2, respectively). Herbs were the most abundant in the seed-bank and palms the less. Time had a negative effect on seed-bank size in primary forests and old-fields; whereas for secondary forests size remained constant throughout the year. The number of emerged plants in different growth-forms changed significantly across time for all successional stages. Overall, the seed-bank provided a greater number of plants in old-fields relative to other propagule sources combined. The results showed that forest modification alters the input of propagules throughout the seed-bank for different plant growth-forms.
Funder
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Chajul Biological Station
MacArthur Foundation
Subject
Plant Science,Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
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