Tree regeneration of late-successional, animal-dispersed and/or timber species in restored forests is key to the recovery of ecological functions and interactions, as well as ecosystem services. We assessed whether active restoration is more effective than passive restoration at increasing the recovery of these groups in the tree seedling community. We analysed tree seedlings (>0.3 m to 1.5 m in height) over four years under three conditions in a tropical montane cloud forest landscape in Mexico: mature cloud forest (MF) as the reference system, active restoration (AR; mixed plantation with native species) and passive restoration (PR; natural succession). The AR and PR were 24 years old and were originally established in abandoned grazing land located at similar distances to the MF (709 ± 67 m and 906 ± 66 m, respectively). We recorded ~ 488 seedlings/year belonging to 51 tree species. Seedling density was higher in AR than in PR, but no differences were found in recruitment or survival rates between these restoration conditions. The density of late-successional, barochorous-synzoochorous and timber species was much higher in MF than in the restoration conditions. Seedling density of timber species was similar in AR and PR. Our results support higher recovery of the richness and density of late-successional and barochorous-synzoochorous functional groups in the tree seedling community in AR than in that of PR. However, the overall low seedling density and recruitment found in both restoration conditions highlight the need for additional intervention, even after 24 years, in order to overcome barriers to tree regeneration. Direct seeding and enrichment plantings of late-successional, barochorous-synzoochorous and high-value timber species could contribute towards more ecologically and economically valuable forests.

恢复森林中晚生，动物分散和/或木材物种的树木再生是恢复生态功能和相互作用以及生态系统服务的关键。我们评估了主动恢复是否比被动恢复更有效地增加了树苗社区中这些群体的恢复。我们在三种条件下分析了墨西哥热带山地云雾森林景观中四年内的树木幼苗（高度> 0.3 m至1.5 m）：成熟云雾森林（MF）作为参考系统，主动恢复（AR;与本地混合种植）种）和被动恢复（PR；自然演替）。AR和PR的年龄为24岁，最初建立在与MF距离相近（分别为709±67 m和906±66 m）的荒地上。我们每年记录约488棵树，属于51种树种。AR中的幼苗密度高于PR中的密度，但在这些恢复条件之间的募集或成活率方面均未发现差异。MF的后继生，准亚同时间和木材物种的密度比恢复条件下要高得多。在AR和PR，木材种类的幼苗密度相似。我们的研究结果表明，与PR相比，AR的树苗社区中后期成功的和Barochorous-synzoochorous功能组的丰富性和密度的恢复更高。但是，在两种恢复条件下总体上较低的幼苗密度和募集量突显了甚至需要经过24年才能进行额外干预的必要性，以克服树木再生的障碍。