Grain-for-green accelerates functional restoration of rodent-mediated seed dispersal

Abstract

The Grain-for-Green Program in China is one of the largest payments for ecosystem services programs, and it is regarded as effective for protecting the ecological environment and mitigating disasters. However, research into the effects of revegetation on seed dispersal as an ecosystem service remains limited. Thus, we compared the effects of different types of vegetation restoration (i.e., natural forest (NF), Grain-for-Green forest (GG), and abandoned cropland (AC)) in the Taihang Mountains on the rodent abundance, seed dispersal, and seedling recruitment in Quercus variabilis forest and the pathways involved. The results showed that NF and GG clearly had similar effects on the rodent composition and abundance, but the seed removal rate, seed dispersal distance, and scatter-hoarded proportion were higher under GG than AC, thereby indicating that GG may provide a similar seed dispersal service compared to NF. By contrast, the scatter-hoarding acorn proportions and dispersal distance were significantly lower under AC than NF. Therefore, GG stands could supply an equivalent seed dispersal service to NF, as well as increasing the rodent composition and abundance, and improving the seed dispersal services and capacity for plant movement, thereby contributing to accelerated vegetation restoration at the landscape scale, with significant implications for conserving biodiversity.