Data from: The effectiveness of seed rain in recolonising an ecotonal mesic forest following extreme severity fire

As fire severity and extent increase, recovery of fire-sensitive species
in plant communities may rely increasingly on seed rain and dispersal from
adjacent unburnt areas. The role dispersal plays in driving recovery
trajectories is surprisingly understudied. Additionally, how traits drive
dispersal can contextualise compositional differences and indicate
recovery trajectories. This paper investigated seed rain in recently
burned mesic forest and the role of traits in driving post-fire recovery
across a gradient of fire severities. We placed seed traps at two
locations in the Blue Mountains, located in south-eastern Australia. We
collected and identified all seeds that fell into seed traps each month
for a year, three years following fire of differing severities. We
compared species diversity of seed collections with extant vegetation and
measured the minimum dispersal distance each species likely travelled. We
used variable selection to identify how traits impacted dispersal
distances. Rainforest species were generally lacking from recently burned
sites in both the extant vegetation and the seed rain. Composition of the
seed rain indicated dispersal occurred primarily from local sources, with
minimum distance travelled largely determined by life form, dispersal type
and dispersal height. Differences in species richness and composition
between unburnt and sites burnt at differing severities was observed in
both the extant vegetation and in the seed rain. Increasing fire severity
suggests lengthening recovery times, with recolonisation from unburnt
areas minimal and slow. The commonality of local dispersal highlights the
importance of surviving individuals for maintaining diversity and
replenishing populations.