Persistence of seed dispersal in agroecosystems: effects of landscape modification and intensive soil management practices in avian frugivores, frugivory and seed deposition in olive croplands

Farming impacts on animal-mediated seed dispersal through mechanisms operating at least at two spatial scales: first, at the landscape scale, through habitat loss and land conversion to agriculture/livestock grazing, and second, by local intensification (farm scale) of the agricultural practices. Nonetheless, these two scales of farming impact on the seed dispersal function have been rarely integrated. In particular, studies evaluating the effect of agriculture in the seed dispersal function of frugivorous birds in Mediterranean ecosystems are lacking. We evaluate the role of the landscape transformation, from fruit-rich woodland habitats to olive grove landscapes, together with the local intensive practices of soil management on the persistence of the seed dispersal function for Mediterranean fleshy-fruited plants in olive landscapes of south Spain.

We used bird censuses, mist-nets and seed traps to characterize avian frugivore assemblages, frugivory, and seed deposition in seminatu...