Tally of seeds collected in seed-rain traps and the trees around the traps in Guánica Forest, Puerto Rico

Tropical dry forests that experience severe disturbances often remain
degraded for long time periods, during which non‐native grasses and
trees dominate. One barrier to native tree regeneration in degraded
areas may be seed dispersal limitation. To better understand how
dispersal limitation influences recovery from degradation, we tested
whether the mode and rates of seed dispersal differed in degraded
sites dominated either by the exotic tree Leucaena leucocephala or
open areas dominated by introduced pasture grasses. We also tested
whether L. leucocephala stands facilitate the recruitment of native
trees by increasing their seed input compared to open grass areas.