Seed bank diversity and composition during natural tropical forest regeneration

Regeneration of tropical forests following agricultural abandonment is a critical process for global ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation. Despite being a key component of tropical secondary succession, our understanding of soil seed bank dynamics remains incomplete. This study examines the soil seed bank in 10 forest stands, 10 to 130 years after abandonment, and two agricultural areas in and around the Barro Colorado Natural Monument in central Panama. Using this chronosequence that spans early to late successional stages, we investigated changes in density, species richness, dispersal mode, and composition of the soil seed bank. While early succession was dominated by herbaceous species, their density and richness declined sharply in the first decades. By 50 years, seed densities had stabilised at a lower level and were dominated by woody species, whose species richness and density increased over time. In terms of species composition, forest sites ≤ 10 years old differ..., , # Data from: Seed bank diversity and composition during natural tropical forest regeneration

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx8w](10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx8w)

## Description of the data and file structure

Data from: Seed bank diversity and composition during natural tropical forest regeneration.

The data were collected in 2024 in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, central Panama. Identity and number of species were determined using the germination method. Data related to aboveground vegetation, species nativity, and seed dispersal were gathered from other publications.

### Files and variables

#### File: data.xlsx

##### File Descriptions

1.       Census: contains data from seed bank sampling and the germination process.

* Plot_id_census: Name of the sample site as recorded during the census
* Sample_num: Sample number (1-20) indicating which sampling event the seedling was detected in
* Germination_date: Date when the censused seedling germinated
* Seedling_id: Identification of ...,