Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T07:46:39.124Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A simple standardized protocol to evaluate the reliability of seed rain estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2020

André J. Arruda Open the ORCID record for André J. Arruda [Opens in a new window] ,
Fernando A.O. Silveira Open the ORCID record for Fernando A.O. Silveira [Opens in a new window]  and
Elise Buisson Open the ORCID record for Elise Buisson [Opens in a new window]
André J. Arruda*
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Avignon Université, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie, CNRS, IRD, Aix Marseille Université, IUT d'Avignon, AGROPARC, Avignon, France University of Western Australia, School of Biological Sciences, Perth, Australia
Fernando A.O. Silveira
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Elise Buisson
Affiliation:
Avignon Université, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie, CNRS, IRD, Aix Marseille Université, IUT d'Avignon, AGROPARC, Avignon, France
*
Author for Correspondence: André J. Arruda, E-mail: ajarruda@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seed dispersal has key implications for community dynamics and restoration ecology. However, estimating seed rain (the number and diversity of seeds arriving in a given area) is challenging, and the lack of standardization in measurement prevents cross-site comparisons. Seed trap effectiveness and accuracy of seed sorting methods are key components of seed rain estimates in need of standardization. We propose and describe a standardized protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of two seed trap types (sticky and funnel traps) and the accuracy of a seed sorting method. We used widely available seeds (arugula, quinoa, sesame and sunflower) to produce a gradient of seed size, weight and colour. Proof-of-concept was tested in a tropical grassland, where traps were set for 30 days. Our results suggest that we underestimate dispersal of seeds with less than 2 mm width that can be easily mistaken for debris and soil particles or that fail to adhere to sticky traps. Seeds on sticky traps may be more vulnerable to removal by wind and rain, whereas seeds in funnel traps are more susceptible to decay. We found no evidence of observer bias on seed sorting for funnel trap samples. However, accuracy on seed sorting for funnel trap samples tended to decline for seeds with less than 2 mm width, suggesting a size-dependence in seed retrieval success. Our standardized protocol addressing trap effectiveness and seed sorting methods will increase the reliability of data obtained in seed rain studies and allow more reliable comparisons between datasets.

Keywords

seed lossseed rainseed sortingseed traptrap effectiveness
Type
Research Paper
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 30 , Special Issue 4: Functional Seed Ecology , December 2020 , pp. 304 - 309
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arruda, AJ, Buisson, E, Poschlod, P and Silveira, FAO (2018) How have we studied seed rain in grasslands and what do we need to improve for better restoration? Restoration Ecology 26, S84–S91. doi:10.1111/rec.12686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, CC and Baskin, JM (2014) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination, 2nd edn. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Borer, ET, Harpole, WS, Adler, PB, Lind, EM, Orrock, JL, Seabloom, ER and Smith, MD (2014) Finding generality in ecology: a model for globally distributed experiments. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 5, 65–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabrerie, O and Alard, D (2005) Comparison of three seed trap types in a chalk grassland: toward a standardised protocol. Plant Ecology 176, 101–112. doi:10.1007/s11258-004-0024-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cottrell, TR (2004) Seed rain traps for forest lands: considerations for trap construction and study design. BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management 5. Available at: http://jem-online.org/index.php/jem/article/view/283.Google Scholar
Debussche, M and Isenmann, M (1994) Bird-dispersed seed rain and seedling establishment in patchy Mediterranean vegetation. Oikos 69, 414–426. doi:10.2307/3545854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estévez, RA, Anderson, CB, Pizarro, JC and Burgman, MA (2015) Clarifying values, risk perceptions, and attitudes to resolve or avoid social conflicts in invasive species management. Conservation Biology 29, 19–30. doi:10.1111/cobi.12359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Godefroid, S, Van De, VA, Stoffelen, P and Vanderborght, T (2017) Effectiveness of dry heat as a seed sterilisation technique: implications for ex situ conservation. Plant Biosystems 151, 1054–1061. doi:10.1080/11263504.2016.1231140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, MCM, De Wilde, M, Yavercovski, N, Willm, L, Mesléard, F and Buisson, E (2018) Microwave soil heating reduces seedling emergence of a wide range of species including invasives. Restoration Ecology 26, S160–S169. doi:10.1111/rec.12668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holl, KD (1999) Factors limiting tropical rain forest regeneration in abandoned pasture: seed rain, seed germination, microclimate, and soil. Biotropica 31, 229–242. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.1999.tb00135.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackel, AK and Poschlod, P (1994) Diaspore production and the influence of the size of diaspore traps on the quantitative result of seasonal diaspore rain in two calcareous grassland sites. Berichte des Institutes für Landschafts-und Pflanzenökologie der Universität Hohenheim 3, 123–132.Google Scholar
Jefferson, RG and Usher, MB (1989) Seed rain dynamics in disused chalk quarries in the Yorkshire Wolds, England, with special reference to nature conservation. Biological Conservation 47, 123–136. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(89)90095-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, K (1998) Species composition of soil seed bank and seed rain of abandoned wet meadows and their relation to above ground vegetation. Flora 193, 345–359. doi:10.1016/S0367-2530(17)30860-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kollmann, J and Goetze, D (1998) Notes on seed traps in terrestrial plant communities. Flora 193, 31–40. doi:10.1016/S0367-2530(17)30813-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, AC and Barkley, WD (1961) Seed identification manual. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press.Google Scholar
Mohamed-Yasseen, Y, Barringer, SA, Splittstoesser, WE and Costanza, S (1994) The role of seed coats in seed viability. Botanical Review 60, 426–439. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4354239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Predavec, M (1997) Seed removal by rodents, ants and birds in the Simpson Desert, central Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 36, 327–332. doi:10.1006/jare.1996.0156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priestley, DA (1986) Seed aging. Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2018) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.Google Scholar
Roberts, EH (1972) Loss of viability and crop yields, pp. 307–359 in Roberts, EH (Ed.) Viability of seeds, London, Chapman and Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saulei, SM and Swaine, MD (1988) Rain forest seed dynamics during succession at Gogol, Papua New Guinea. Journal of Ecology 76, 1133–1152. doi:10.2307/2260639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schott, GW (1995) A seed trap for monitoring the seed rain in terrestrial communities. Canadian Journal of Botany 73, 794–796. doi:10.1139/b95-087.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silveira, FAO, Negreiros, D, Barbosa, NPU, Buisson, E, Carmo, FF, Carstensen, DW, Conceição, AA, Cornelissen, TG, Echternacht, L, Fernandes, GW, Garcia, QS, Guerra T, J, Jacobi, CM, Lemos Filho, JP, LeStradic, S, Morellato, LPC, Neves, FS, Oliveira, RS, Schaefer, CE, Viana, PL and Lambers, H (2016) Ecology and evolution of plant diversity in the endangered campo rupestre: a neglected conservation priority. Plant and Soil 403, 129–152. doi:10.1007/s11104-015-2637-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, PR and Vargas, IN (2008) Sample size and appropriate design of fruit and seed traps in tropical forests. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24, 95–105. doi.org/10.1017/s0266467407004646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, RL and McGinnes, BS (1963) A comparison of eight types of mast traps. Journal of Forestry 61, 679–680.Google Scholar
Török, P, Helm, A, Kiehl, K, Buisson, E and Valkó, O (2018) Beyond the species pool: modification of species dispersal, establishment, and assembly by habitat restoration. Restoration Ecology 26, S65–S72. doi:10.1111/rec.12825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, BT, Macchiavelli, R and Van Bloem, SJ (2019) Seed rain along a gradient of degradation in Caribbean dry forest: effects of dispersal limitation on the trajectory of forest recovery. Applied Vegetation Science 22, 423–434. doi:10.1111/avsc.12444.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Arruda et al. supplementary material

Arruda et al. supplementary material 1

Download Arruda et al. supplementary material(File)
File 421.4 KB
Supplementary material: File

Arruda et al. supplementary material

Arruda et al. supplementary material 2

Download Arruda et al. supplementary material(File)
File 160.3 KB