Young restored forests increase seedling recruitment in abandoned pastures in the Southern Atlantic rainforest

Planting seedlings is a common technique for abandoned pastures restoration in the tropics, supposedly by increasing the seedling recruitment and accelerating succession. In this study we evaluated the role of a young restored forest (one year old) in enhancing seedling establishment from two sources (seed rain and seed bank), in the Atlantic Rainforest region in Southern Brazil. We compared abandoned pasture, young restored forest and old-growth forest with respect to the seedlings recruited from different sources, by monitoring 40 permanent plots (0.5mx0.5m) over 20 months. From the three studied areas a total of 392 seedlings of 53 species were recruited. Species were mainly herbaceous (85%), pioneers (88%), zoochorous (51%) and small-seeded species (60%). Seedling recruitment from the seed bank (density and species richness) was higher and dominated by herbaceous species in the abandoned pasture and in the young restored forest; on the other hand, the recruitment of woody species from seed rain was more pronounced in the old-growth forest. The young restored forest increased the species richness of woody seedlings recruitment from the seed bank (two-fold) and from seed rain (three-fold) compared to the abandoned pasture. Also, the seedling density in young restored forest was still higher than abandoned pastures (seed bank: four times; seed rain: ten times). Our results show that even young restored areas enhance the establishment of woody species and should be considered an important step for pasture restoration. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (4): 1271-1282. Epub 2010 December 01.

La introducción de plántulas en pastizales abandonados es una técnica común de restauración de los bosques en los trópicos, debido a que incrementa el reclutamiento de plántulas y acelera la sucesión. En este estudio se evaluó el papel de un bosque restaurado joven (un año) en el reclutamiento de plántulas a través de dos fuentes (lluvia y banco de semillas) en la región del Bosque Atlántico en el sur de Brasil. Se comparó un pastizal abandonado, un bosque restaurado joven y un bosque secundario maduro en cuanto al reclutamiento de plántulas de diferentes fuentes, mediante el monitoreo permanente de 40 parcelas (0.5mx0.5m) durante 20 meses. En las tres áreas estudiadas se reclutaron 392 plántulas de 53 especies, principalmente herbáceas (85%), pioneras (88%), zoocoras (51%) y de semilla pequeña (60%). El reclutamiento de plántulas en el banco de semillas (densidad y riqueza de especies) fue el más alto y dominado por especies herbáceas en el pasto abandonado y en el bosque restaurado joven, el reclutamiento de especies leñosas por la lluvia de semillas fue más pronunciado en los bosques secundarios maduros. Cuando se compara con el pastizal abandonado, el bosque restaurado joven presentó una mayor riqueza de plántulas de especies leñosas reclutadas, tanto del banco (el doble) como de la lluvia de semillas (tres veces más); la densidad de plántulas en el bosque restaurado joven fue más alta que en los pastizales abandonados (cuatro veces en el banco y diez veces en la lluvia de semillas). Nuestros resultados muestran que las áreas restauradas aún jóvenes pueden aumentar el reclutamiento de especies leñosas y deben considerarse como un paso importante para la restauración de pastizales.

Young restored forests increase seedling recruitment in abandoned pastures in the Southern Atlantic rainforest.

Planting seedlings is a common technique for abandoned pastures restoration in the tropics, supposedly by increasing the seedling recruitment and accelerating succession. In this study we evaluated the role of a young restored forest (one year old) in enhancing seedling establishment from two sources (seed rain and seed bank), in the Atlantic Rainforest region in Southern Brazil. We compared abandoned pasture, young restored forest and old-growth forest with respect to the seedlings recruited from different sources, by monitoring 40 permanent plots (0.5 m x 0.5 m) over 20 months. From the three studied areas a total of 392 seedlings of 53 species were recruited. Species were mainly herbaceous (85%), pioneers (88%), zoochorous (51%) and small-seeded species (60%). Seedling recruitment from the seed bank (density and species richness) was higher and dominated by herbaceous species in the abandoned pasture and in the young restored forest; on the other hand, the recruitment of woody species from seed rain was more pronounced in the old-growth forest. The young restored forest increased the species richness of woody seedlings recruitment from the seed bank (two-fold) and from seed rain (three-fold) compared to the abandoned pasture. Also, the seedling density in young restored forest was still higher than abandoned pastures (seed bank: four times; seed rain: ten times). Our results show that even young restored areas enhance the establishment of woody species and should be considered an important step for pasture restoration.