Habitat attributes similarities reduce impacts of land-use conversion on seed removal

Changes in land use strongly influence habitat attributes (e.g., herbaceous ground cover and tree richness) and can consequently affect ecological functions. Most studies have focused on the response of these ecological functions to land-use changes within only a single vegetation type. These studies have often focused solely on agricultural conversion of forests, making it nearly impossible to draw general conclusions across other vegetation types or with other land use changes (e.g., afforestation). We examined the consequences of agricultural conversion for seed removal by ants in native grassland, savanna, and savanna-forest habitats that had been converted to planted pastures (Brachiaria decumbens) and tree plantations (Eucalyptus spp.) and explored if changes in seed removal were correlated with differences in habitat attributes between habitat types. We found that land-use changes affected seed removal across the tree cover gradient and that the magnitude of impact was influenced...