Seedling recruitment under isolated trees in a tea plantation provides a template for forest restoration in eastern Africa.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read Online Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science
    • Subject Terms:
      Camellia sinensis* ; Forests* ; Trees*/growth & development; Environmental Restoration and Remediation/*methods ; Seedlings/*growth & development; Crop Production ; Ficus ; Moraceae ; Seed Dispersal ; Tanzania
    • Abstract:
      Natural regeneration is less expensive than tree planting, but determining what species will arrive and establish to serve as templates for tropical forest restoration remains poorly investigated in eastern Africa. This study summarises seedling recruitment under 29 isolated legacy trees (14 trees comprised of three exotic species and 15 trees comprised of seven native species) in tea plantations in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Among the findings were that pioneer recruits were very abundant whereas non-pioneers were disproportionately fewer. Importantly, 98% of all recruits were animal-dispersed. The size of legacy trees, driven mostly by the exotic Grevillea robusta, and to some extent, the native Milicia excelsa, explained abundance of recruits. The distribution of bird-dispersed recruits suggested that some bird species use all types of legacy trees equally in this fragmented landscape. In contrast, the distribution of bat-dispersed recruits provided strong evidence that seedling composition differed under native versus exotic legacy trees likely due to fruit bats showing more preference for native legacy trees. Native, as compared to exotic legacy trees, had almost two times more non-pioneer recruits, with Ficus and Milicia excelsa driving this trend. Implications of our findings regarding restoration in the tropics are numerous for the movement of native animal-dispersed tree species in fragmented and disturbed tropical forests surrounded by farmland. Isolated native trees that bear fleshy fruits can attract more frugivores, resulting not only in high recruitment under them, but depending on the dispersal mode of the legacy trees, also different suites of recruited species. When selecting tree species for plantings, to maximize visitation by different dispersal agents and to enhance seedling recruit diversity, bat-dispersed Milicia excelsa and Ficus species are recommended.
      Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
    • References:
      Trends Ecol Evol. 1996 Mar;11(3):119-24. (PMID: 21237778)
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Feb 27;104(9):3278-82. (PMID: 17360638)
      Ecology. 2009 Apr;90(4):1030-41. (PMID: 19449697)
      Ecology. 2006 Feb;87(2):469-82. (PMID: 16637371)
      Oecologia. 2003 Jan;134(2):251-61. (PMID: 12647166)
      Am Nat. 2001 Sep;158(3):211-20. (PMID: 18707319)
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Oct 1;99(20):12923-6. (PMID: 12239344)
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Sep 5;114(36):9635-9640. (PMID: 28827340)
      PLoS One. 2013 Dec 04;8(12):e82369. (PMID: 24324776)
      PLoS One. 2014 Aug 13;9(8):e104656. (PMID: 25118608)
      Conserv Biol. 2000 Dec 18;14(6):1693-1703. (PMID: 35701928)
      Science. 2006 Feb 3;311(5761):628. (PMID: 16456072)
      Ecol Appl. 2015 Jun;25(4):1072-82. (PMID: 26465043)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20210506 Date Completed: 20211018 Latest Revision: 20240402
    • Publication Date:
      20240402
    • Accession Number:
      PMC8101954
    • Accession Number:
      10.1371/journal.pone.0250859
    • Accession Number:
      33956837