Fruiting phenology of seed dispersal syndromes in a Mexican Neotropical temperate forest

Abstract

By linking phenological patterns not only to climatic factors but also to plant functional traits we may gain a better understanding of plant community function and assembly. While phenological patterns and dispersal syndromes have been well studied for temperate forests in boreal latitudes, as well as tropical forests, little information is available for high altitude temperate forests within tropical latitudes. In the present study we analyzed the fruiting phenology for 133 plant species in a Mexican subhumid temperate forest located in the tropical zone. We assessed the relationships between phenology and dispersal syndromes, temperature and rainfall; we also related dispersal syndromes to growth forms. During 2years the presence/absence of ripe fruits was recorded monthly for each plant species. Each species was categorized according to its main seed dispersal syndrome (anemochorous, autochorous, zoochorous) and its growth form (tree, shrub, herb). Temporal occurrence of ripe fruits was compared using circular statistics. Considering all the species recorded in the community, the three dispersal syndromes were represented by a similar proportion of species. Zoochory was most prominent among tree species (68%) while autochory was better represented among herbs (54%). Shrubs presented a uniform distribution of the syndromes. Regarding phenological patterns, the anemochorous species presented a fruiting peak in the middle of the dry season (February) while the autochorous and zoochorous species had a fruiting peak at the beginning of this season (December). The three dispersal syndromes showed a negative correlation between precipitation and the number of species fruiting. The autochorous and zoochorous species also showed inverse relationships with temperature. Our results suggest a complex relationship between fruiting phenology and dispersal syndromes with abiotic (precipitation and temperature) and biotic factors (growth form and seed dispersal) in the forest studied. The data generated in this study contribute to understanding key processes in structuring these communities, which should be considered when defining strategies for their conservation, management and restoration of this ecosystem.