Aim of study: Harvesting proposals (e.g. variable retention) for Nothofagus pumilio forests are based on canopy opening, to increase recruitment and enhance seedling growth, by modifying light and soil moisture. Seed production and seedling recruitment will define the success of harvesting, where remnant forest structure are the main influence factors, as well as biotic and abiotic factors. The...

Poaching is rapidly extirpating African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) from most of their historical range, leaving vast areas of elephant-free tropical forest. Elephants are ecological engineers that create and maintain forest habitat; thus, their loss will have large consequences for the composition and structure of Afrotropical forests. Through a comprehensive literature review, we ev...

Trees slowly colonize old fields on sandy outwash in the prairie–forest ecotone of the north-central United States, and in the absence of fire, succession is expected to proceed toward oak woodland. We analyzed whether a case of unusually rapid and spatially extensive invasion by white pine (Pinus strobus) could be explained by the presence of specific temporal or spatial opportunity windows su...

Scatter hoarding of seeds by animals contributes significantly to forest-level processes, including plant recruitment and forest community composition. However, the potential positive and negative effects of caching on seed survival, germination success, and seedling survival have rarely been assessed through experimental studies. Here, I tested the hypothesis that seed burial mimicking caches ...

Restoration of many forest ecosystems will require replanting of native species. Choosing the proper seed source is essential to ensure long-term success of restoration plantings, especially if local seed sources are unavailable or genetically degraded. A successful restoration requires seed sources that are adapted to the climate and site, and are genetically diverse to allow subsequent reprod...

Habitat loss is the main driver of the loss of global biodiversity. Knowledge on this subject, however, is highly concentrated on species richness and composition patterns, with little discussion on the consequences of habitat loss for ecological interactions. Therefore, a systemic approach is necessary to maximize the success of conservation efforts by providing more realistic information abou...

Several factors decrease plant survival throughout their lifecycles. Among them, seed dispersal limitation may play a major role by resulting in highly aggregated (contagious) seed and seedling distributions entailing increased mortality. The arrival of seeds, furthermore, may not match suitable environments for seed survival and, consequently, for seedling establishment. In this study, we inve...

Tree species are key organisms of forest ecosystems, due their size and extended life, providing the environmental setting for many other living organisms. The levels of genetic diversity and the effective population sizes are essential issues for the maintenance and survival of tree species populations, because they direct adaptation to the current environment and future environmental changes....

In healthy forests, vertebrate frugivores move seeds from intact to degraded forests, aiding in the passive regeneration of degraded forests. Yet vertebrate frugivores are declining around the world, and little is known about the impact of this loss on regeneration of degraded areas. Here, we use a unique natural experiment to assess how complete vertebrate frugivore loss affects native seed ra...