Climate change affects communities both directly and indirectly via changes in interspecific interactions. One such interaction that may be altered under climate change is the ant-plant seed dispersal mutualism common in deciduous forests of eastern North America. As climatic warming alters the abundance and activity levels of ants, the potential exists for shifts in rates of ant-mediated seed ...

We studied the spatial pattern of seed predation across a forest-old field edge in both fall and winter to assess the potential for seed predators to influence plant spatial patterns. We used a 100 x 100 m grid that began 30 m inside the forest and extended 60 m into the old field. Inside this grid we placed seed stations at regular 10 m intervals and monitored seed removal. Seed predation vari...

We studied the potential role of seed bank in the dynamics of the understorey in a turkey oak-sessile oak forest (Querceteum petraeae-cerris) in Hungary. We used long-term records of the herb layer (1973-2006) and the seed bank composition of 2006 to assess the role of seed bank in the regeneration of herb layer. The total cover of herb layer decreased from 22% (1973) to 6% (1988), and remained...

Soil seed banks can act as an important source in forest regeneration, and the information on the seed bank composition is vital for determining the resilience of plant communities under severe environments such as urban settings. In this study, we examined the seed bank density and functional composition, and their relationships with aboveground vegetation in three remnant evergreen broad-leav...

Most tropical plants produce fleshy fruits that are dispersed primarily by vertebrate frugivores. Behavioral disparities among vertebrate seed dispersers could influence patterns of seed distribution and thus forest structure. This study investigated the relative importance of arboreal seed dispersers and seed predators on the initial stage of forest organization—seed deposition. We asked the f...

The coexistence of numerous tree species in tropical forests is commonly explained by negative dependence of recruitment on the conspecific seed and tree density due to specialist natural enemies that attack seeds and seedlings ('Janzen-Connell' effects). Less known is whether guilds of shared seed predators can induce a negative dependence of recruitment on the density of different species of ...

Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis Latham, commonly feed on kiwifruit rejected for export and either stored in open bins at packhouses or in piles ready to be fed to livestock, and may play a role in the spread of wild kiwifruit in native and exotic forest in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. We determined the germination rate and percentage germination of Actinidia chinensis Planch. seed sown (1) a...

the purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of forest-based activities on the conditions of the ganaveh woodland in the southern zagros, iran, and to suggest strategies for improving the implementation of forest resource management plans. woodland inventory data was gathered in 2003, accompanied with data from interviews in 2008, were used in this study. the results show that there...

Tree recruitment is a spatially structured process that may undergo change over time because of variation in postdispersal processes. We examined seed pilferage, seed germination, and seedling survival in whitebark pine to determine whether 1) microsite type alters the initial spatial pattern of seed caches, 2) higher abiotic stress (i.e. higher elevations) exacerbates spatial distribution chan...

Long-distance seed dispersal (LDD) is considered a crucial determinant of tree distributions, but its effects depend on demographic processes that enable seeds to establish into adults and that remain poorly understood at large spatial scales. We estimated rates of seed arrival, germination, and survival and growth for a canopy tree species (Miliusa horsfieldii), in a landscape ranging from eve...