Functional diversity and regeneration traits of tree communities in the Amazon-Cerrado transition

Abstract

In central Brazil, there are strong gradients and discontinuities in vegetation structure and composition between the forests of southern Amazonia and the open savannas of South America's Cerrado. These transitions are often controlled by disturbance processes, and the ability of vegetation to respond to climatic and environmental changes may depend on the regeneration traits of the different floras present. In this study we aim to assess the regeneration traits of tree communities of the Amazon-Cerrado transition and to understand how they differ among and within the markedly different vegetation types. We sampled 39 one-hectare long-term monitoring plots that include typical cerrado (TC = 10), cerradão (CD = 3), gallery forests (GF = 3), floodplain forests (FF = 6), seasonal and open rainforests (SF = 17). The regeneration traits assessed included dispersal syndrome (zoochory, anemochory, and autochory), fruit consistency (dry and fleshy), number of seeds per fruit, and diaspore dimensions (width and length). We found differences among the vegetation types, in all regeneration traits. These tended to be aggregate by vegetation structure, being similar for cerrado and cerradão species, and similar for SF, FF and GF (more forested vegetation). Vegetation types did not differ in functional diversity, however, while regeneration traits among seasonal and open rainforests were well-dispersed, in floodplain forests they were more clustered. Tree species depend substantially on fauna (zoochoric species between 42 and 86% in vegetation) for the dispersal across all habitats. By considering regeneration traits in the study of tree recruitment and establishment, we will increase our understanding about the dynamics of tree communities in neotropical forests and savannas.