Data from: Seed dispersal mode and habitat connectivity underpin variation in carbon stocking between Brazilian biomes

In tropical forests, about 60 to 80% of woody plant species depend on
animal-plant interactions for dispersal. The dependence on animal species
for dispersal makes this interaction very fragile in the face of
anthropogenic changes in land use. Disrupting seed dispersal processes,
principally zoochoric dispersal, could significantly alter the long-term
carbon storage potential of tropical forests. An important question is how
landscape structure changes tree carbon stocks in different types of
tropical vegetation and how variation is mediated by the dispersal mode of
animal (zoochoric) or abiotic (non-zoochoric) seeds. We focused on tree
plots at 126 sites in Brazil spanning four types of forest and savanna
vegetation, and calculated carbon stored in zoochoric, non-zoochoric, and
large frugivore-dispersed species. Our results showed that carbon stocks
in zoochoric species and non-zoochoric species differ significantly among
vegetation types, with rainforests having higher stocks in zoochoric
species and semideciduous seasonally dry tropical forests having higher
values in non-zoochoric species. A greater area of native vegetation
promotes higher proportions of carbon stocks dispersed by large frugivore
species, whereas a higher mean shape index reduces this proportion.
Synthesis: This study highlights that seed-dispersal type underpins the
variation in carbon stocks between vegetation types and that the
maintenance of habitat of large dispersers and connectivity are key for
retaining carbon stocks in zoochoric species, particularly in rainforest
and cerrado sensu stricto.