Data from: Species wood density and the location of planted seedlings drive early-stage seedling survival during tropical forest restoration

1.The success of restoration projects is known to vary widely, with outcomes relating to numerous biotic and abiotic factors. Though many studies have examined the factors associated with long-term restoration success, few have examined which factors impact the establishment of restoration plantings.

2.In Australia's Wet Tropics, we used a large replicated restoration experiment to assess seedling survival for 24 native rainforest species commonly used in local restoration efforts. The experiment allowed for a rigorous assessment of the effects of species functional traits, planting conditions and landscape and local scale biotic and abiotic factors on seedling survival. This study reports on seedling survival between three different time periods of 0 – 4, 4 – 9 and 9 – 31 months post planting.

3.The probability of seedling survival was influenced by multiple factors, varying in importance over time. Across the whole study period, seedlings with high wood density and which were planted closer to intact forest consistently displayed the highest probabilities of survival. Transient factors affecting seedling survival across the three time periods included plot aspect (0 – 4 months only), the identity of the planter and slope (4 – 9 and 9 – 31 months). Overall, species survival did not differ between the low (6 species) and high (24 species) diversity treatments, but was significantly lower in monocultures of Flindersia brayleyana by the end of the study.

4.We demonstrate that early-stage seedling survival depends on species wood density and planting location. Our results support the use of species with more conservative growth strategies when limited funds are available for follow-up plantings. Specifically, high wood density species had significantly higher survival than lower wood density, early successional species typically used in rainforest restoration plantings.

5.Synthesis and applications. Our study highlights the importance of wood density and landscape structure to the initial survival of rainforest plantings. Factors influencing seedling survival shifted over time, but most importantly, our results highlight that, when planting into abandoned pastures, it may be preferable to select species with higher wood densities to maximize survival during the crucial early stages of establishment and growth.

1. 众所周知，生态修复项目的成效差异悬殊，其最终结果与诸多生物（biotic）和非生物（abiotic）因子紧密相关。尽管已有大量研究探讨了与长期修复成效相关的影响因子，但针对哪些因子会影响修复种植群落建植过程的研究仍相对匮乏。
2. 本研究在澳大利亚湿热带地区开展，依托一项大规模重复修复实验，对当地修复工作中常用的24种本土雨林物种的幼苗存活率进行评估。该实验可严格检验物种功能性状（functional traits）、种植条件，以及景观和局域尺度的生物与非生物因子对幼苗存活率的影响。本研究报告了种植后0–4个月、4–9个月以及9–31个月三个不同时段的幼苗存活数据。
3. 幼苗存活概率受多种因子共同调控，且各因子的重要性随时间推移发生动态变化。在整个研究周期内，木质密度较高且种植位置靠近原始森林的幼苗始终拥有最高的存活概率。在三个时段中均对幼苗存活产生瞬时影响的因子包括样地坡向（仅在0–4个月时段）、种植者身份以及坡度（在4–9和9–31个月时段）。总体而言，低多样性（6个物种）与高多样性（24个物种）处理组的物种存活率并无显著差异，但在研究结束时，Flindersia brayleyana的单一种植群落存活率显著更低。
4. 本研究证实，幼苗早期存活取决于物种的木质密度与种植位置。研究结果支持在后续种植资金有限的情况下，优先选用生长策略更为保守的物种。具体而言，与雨林修复种植中常用的低木质密度早期演替物种相比，高木质密度物种的存活率显著更高。
5. 综合与应用。本研究凸显了木质密度与景观结构对雨林修复种植苗木初始存活的重要性。影响幼苗存活的因子随时间发生动态变化，但最为关键的是，本研究结果表明，在弃耕牧场上进行修复种植时，为最大化苗木在建植与生长的关键早期阶段的存活率，优先选择高木质密度物种或为更佳策略。