Abstract
Seed removal is a key component of seed dispersal and may be influenced by both landscape-scale and local attributes, and it has been used as an indicator of the intensity of interactions between ecosystem components. We examined how the seed removal rates, which integrate the activity of seed dispersers and seed predators, vary with landscape-scale forest cover. We collected data under 34 trees belonging to two zoochoric species (Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. and Endl.) J. F. Macbr. and Inga vera Willd.) in 17 remnants in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, with different percentages of forest cover. The seed removal rate was estimated using a fast method based on the abundance of intact fruits and fruit scraps on the ground. The amount of forest cover affected the rate of seed removal in a humpbacked shape, with a maximum seed removal rate at intermediate forest cover. Seed removal rates must be related to the amount of food resources offered and diversity of dispersers and predators in the region. In landscapes with intermediate forest amount, there is a better balance between supply and demand for fruits, leading to a higher seed removal rate than more deforested or forested landscape. Our results also show that local factors, such as crop size and canopy surface, together with forest cover amount, are also important to the removal rate, depending on the species. In addition, our results showed that plant–animal interactions are occurring in all fragments, but the health status of these forests is similar to disturbed forests, even in sites immersed in forested landscapes.
Highlights
The Anthropocene is characterized by the pervasive influence of human activity in every biome on Earth
Landscape-scale forest cover ranged between 36.5% and 100% in radius of 200 m to 2000 m
The seed removal rate results showed that plant–animal interaction is occurring in all fragments, but it was low in forested landscapes, an indication that they are defaunated since it is established that the seed removal rate responds to defaunation [18]
Summary
The Anthropocene is characterized by the pervasive influence of human activity in every biome on Earth. Human impact has drastically increased and it is comparable in magnitude to natural processes affecting many aspects of the global biosphere [1]. Anthropogenic activities are responsible for drastic land use changes, in which forests are replaced by agricultural and pasture areas [2]. This longstanding process of habitat conversion and habitat loss is the main threat to biodiversity worldwide [3,4]. Assessing community diversity through conventional methods is extremely difficult and time consuming [6,7,8], especially in mega diverse environments such as tropical forests. Methods that quickly access species diversity have been increasingly used since large programs such as the Forests 2020, 11, 1144; doi:10.3390/f11111144 www.mdpi.com/journal/forests
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