Water restriction alters seed bank traits and ecology in Atlantic Forest seasonal forests under climate change

The soil seed bank (SSB) is one of the key mechanisms ensuring the perpetuation of forests, but how will it behave under the climate scenarios projected for the future? Addressing this central question, which remains underexplored in seasonal tropical forests, this study evaluated the germination, ecological attributes, and functional traits of the SSB in a seasonal forest within the Atlantic Forest. Forty-eight composite SSB samples were collected from 12 plots, distributed across four treatments, each with 12 replicates. The samples were placed in two climate-controlled greenhouses, creating two environments with controlled climatic conditions, each with two water levels: Cur: current scenario without water restriction; Cur_WR: current scenario with water restriction; RCP8.5: future scenario without water restriction; RCP8.5_WR: future scenario with water restriction. The germinants were identified, and their ecological attributes and functional traits were recorded. Leaf area, biomas..., Forty-eight composite SSB samples were collected from 12 plots, distributed across four treatments, each with 12 replicates. The samples were placed in two climate-controlled greenhouses, creating two environments with controlled climatic conditions, each with two water levels: Cur: current scenario without water restriction; Cur_WR: current scenario with water restriction; RCP8.5: future scenario without water restriction; RCP8.5_WR: future scenario with water restriction. The germinants were identified, and their ecological attributes and functional traits were recorded. Leaf area, biomass production, differences in abundance, richness, and diversity were evaluated, along with variance analysis to assess the interaction between water levels and climate scenarios., , # Species abundance and functional traits

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rn8pk0pmn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rn8pk0pmn)

## Description of the data and file structure

The collection of the soil seed bank was carried out in June 2021, in 12 plots of 40 m x 50 m.

The surface layer of soil (first 8 cm) was collected within each sampling unit, using a wooden frame (25 cm x 25 cm x 8 cm = 0.005 m³). Three simple samples were collected per plot and then homogenized to form one composite sample per plot, which was then divided to cover the four different treatments.

To assess the impact of climate change on the soil seed bank, two distinct scenarios were used: the current scenario (Cur) and the future scenario (RCP8.5). The first was represented by the current climate of the Pacotuba National Forest. Climate data for this scenario were established using the climatic normals from the nearest weather station to the remnant provided by the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), locat...