The effect of forest successional stage on seed removal of tropical rain forest tree species

Seed removal was evaluated at the macro- and micro-habitat level in areas differing in successional stage in the Bolivian Amazon. The successional stages consisted of secondary forests of 2, 10 and 20 years old and primary forest. Seeds of nine tree species were artificially dispersed and the number of seeds removed was evaluated over 7 weeks. Several stand characteristics were measured at the sites where seeds were dispersed. Seed removal at the end of the experiment varied from 50 to 100% depending on the species, and from 74 to 90% depending on successional stage. In general, the removal rate decreased with an increase in age of successional stage. The seed removal rate was related to liana density and not to litter thickness. Different microhabitat characteristics explained the seed removal rate of four species but microhabitat characteristics did not explain the decrease in seed removal rate with an increase in forest age. The results support the idea that post-dispersal seed removal reduces the number of seeds available for germination, consequently playing an important role in the regeneration of abandoned agricultural areas.