Data from: Fruit traits of pioneer trees structure seed dispersal across distances on tropical deforested landscapes: implications for restoration

Pioneer trees with fleshy fruits are typically planted in restoration
projects to attract frugivores as a mean to increase dispersal and
accelerate forest regeneration. However, differences in fruit traits of
pioneer trees can potentially influence dispersal and their restoration
outcomes. Here we investigated the effects of bird and plant traits, and
distance to forest fragments, on the seed rain using a tree-planting
experiment replicated in 12 deforested sites in Brazil. Factors were fruit
traits of pioneer trees (wind-dispersed, bird-dispersed with lipids or
with carbohydrates, and controls) and distance (10, 50, 300 m) from forest
fragments. We found that density and richness of birds and seeds decreased
exponentially with distance from fragments, yet these effects were minor
compared to the effects of fruit traits on the structure of the seed rain.
Overall, plots with fleshy-fruited pioneers attracted much greater bird
activity and seed dispersal than plots with wind-dispersal pioneers and
the controls. For instance, plots with carbohydrate-rich fruits received
more than twice the average species richness and density of birds and
seeds of plots with lipid-rich pioneer trees, surpassing wind-dispersed
pioneers by more than 80%, and controls by over 90%. Furthermore, the
fruit trait treatments resulted in morphological shifts in the average
traits of visiting birds. Significant differences in bill gape and flight
capacities (wing-loading) were associated with the differences in the seed
rain associated with each treatments. Synthesis and applications.
Understanding how trait-matching processes mediating mutualistic seed
dispersal by frugivores interact with distance-dependent dispersal
limitation on deforested tropical landscapes is critical for improving
forest restoration efforts. This is especially relevant in the context of
applied nucleation. As shown here, avian seed dispersal can thus be
manipulated in restoration projects in order to increase connectivity and
speed up forest recovery and the provision of the multiple ecosystem
services that follow forest succession.