Reproductive functional organization of woody plant assemblages along regeneration in a Caatinga dry forest

• Published in: Forest ecology and management 2023-04, Vol.533, p.120852, Article 120852
• Main Authors: Silva, Jéssica Luiza S., Barros, Maria Fabíola, Rito, Kátia F., Cruz-Neto, Oswaldo, Arnan, Xavier, Tabarelli, Marcelo, Leal, Inara R., Albuquerque, Ulysses P., Lopes, Ariadna Valentina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aboveground biomass; Chronic anthropogenic disturbances; Pollination; Reproductive functional diversity; Seasonally dry tropical forests; Slash-and-burn agriculture
• ISSN: 0378-1127; 1872-7042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120852

[Display omitted] •Woody plant assemblages along forest regeneration had a higher occurrence of specialized traits and strategies.•Regenerating forest stands also supported a higher (30%) functional diversity of reproductive traits than old-growth stands.•Forest biomass and aridity correlated negatively with reproductive trait diversity.•The Caatinga dry forest regeneration as examined in the community-level plant reproductive context is marked by high resilience.•Aridity and chronic human disturbances did not alter the regeneration trajectory in the Caatinga dry forest.•The Caatinga dry forest regeneration, in the context of slash-and-burn agriculture, is traits-dependent. Tropical forest regeneration across old fields has been mainly described as a predictable sequence of functional plant assemblages in response to environmental filtering. However, the way plant reproductive diversity is organized along forest regeneration and how the reproductive profile of woody flora may impact regeneration have been poorly investigated. This paper examines the organization of plant assemblages throughout the regeneration of a Caatinga dry forest in the context of slash-and-burn agriculture with a focus on reproductive plant traits and strategies. We hypothesized a recovery and directional changes in specialist reproductive traits/strategies along forest regeneration but with aridity and chronic anthropogenic disturbances posing contrary forces to this recovery process. This study was carried out in a human-modified landscape of Caatinga dry forest in northeast Brazil. We compiled information on woody plant assemblages inhabiting a forest chronosequence consisting of 28 forest stands of varying age: 14 regenerating (4–50-yr old) and 14 old-growth forests. Woody plant assemblages along forest regeneration had higher occurrence of specialized traits and strategies, such as pollination by vertebrates (16.6%) and dispersion by animals (47.8%). Regenerating forest stands exhibited a higher occurrence of species with specialized floral size (19%) and pollination by vertebrates (26.5%) as compared to old-growth forests. Regenerating forest stands also supported a higher (30%) functional diversity of reproductive traits than old-growth stands. Biomass, aridity, and chronic anthropogenic disturbances affected a myriad of traits/strategies: pollination by birds and animal dispersion increased with increases in biomass while total functional diversity responded negatively; polli