Mortality and mechanical damage of seedlings in different size fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Author(s)

Quitete Portela, Rita de Cassia ^[1] ; Maes dos Santos, Flavio Antonio ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Bot, Postgrad Program Plant Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Bot, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Tropical Ecology; v. 50, n. 2, p. 267-275, WIN 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 9

Abstract

We assessed the mechanical damage caused by litterfall and vertebrates to seedlings and saplings at the edge and in the interior of three small (14, 20, 29 ha) and one large (9400 ha) fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Sao Paulo, Brazil. We monitored mechanical damage (e.g. litterfall, vertebrate and human damage) of artificial seedlings, and mortality rates for natural seedlings for 1 year at 3 month intervals. Mechanical damage to artificial seedlings was mainly caused by litterfall (68.1%). Damage to artificial seedlings was approximately two times higher in the smaller fragments than in the large fragment, but the mortality of natural seedlings was not related to fragment size. Mechanical damage and mortality did not differ between edge and interior plots. Although it occurred only occasionally (3.78% of total damage) human impact (trampling) seems to be the most important single cause of seedling mortality. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 99/05123-4 - Biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes at the Atlantic Plateau of São Paulo (Brazil)
• Grantee: Jean Paul Walter Metzger
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants