Data from: Species enrichment in tropical dry forest recovery: Successional patterns of seed rain attributes

Propagule availability limits the successional recovery of tropical dry
forest (TDF). Despite high resprouting potential in these regrowing
forests, the floristic enrichment of communities with reduced seed banks
largely depends on seeds of species absent from the site (i.e.,
allochthonous component). Successional development of vegetation structure
and composition potentially shapes seed rain attributes by modifying
attractiveness to dispersers or the dispersal of anemochorous seeds. We
examined the successional and seasonal variation in seed rain richness and
abundance across two contrasting components (autochthonous vs.
allochthonous) and for subsets defined by dispersal mode, growth form, and
successional guild. Monthly seed rain samples were collected over one year
in a successional chronosequence (1–60 years). We used a Bayesian approach
to model the responses of seed rain richness and abundance to age and
season (wet vs. dry) by fitting generalized additive models, and a
detrended correspondence analysis to assess the spatial autocorrelation of
seed rain composition. Community-level seed rain abundance decreased as
succession progressed, while community and autochthonous species richness
increased. The allochthonous component of the seed rain responded to
season, rather than age, with higher values in the dry season, as observed
for most plant groups in the seed rain subsets. Dispersal modes shifted
from anemochory to endozoochory, and from seeds of non-woody to seeds of
woody species in later stages. The composition of seed rain exhibited
strong spatial autocorrelation. The interplay of succession, seasonality,
and landscape context shapes seed rain, thus confirming its important role
in species enrichment during TDF regeneration.