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23 March 2015 Tree species composition, breeding systems, and pollination and sispersal syndromes in three forest successional stages in a tropical dry forest in Mesoamerica
Branko Hilje, Julio Calvo-Alvarado, César Jiménez-Rodríguez, Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa
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Abstract

Tropical dry forests (TDF) in Mesoamerica are highly endangered by the expansion of human activities (e.g., agriculture and cattle ranching). In contrast, TDF in Costa Rica have experienced outstanding restoration due to changes in economic and conservation policies. Currently TDF landscapes in Costa Rica are a mosaic of different successional stages. Tree breeding systems and pollination and dispersal syndromes are key elements for understanding restoration processes in TDFs. In this study we describe and compare tree species composition and diversity in three TDF successional stages (early, intermediate and late) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We describe for the first time tree species breeding systems and pollination and dispersal syndromes for the largest and most significant TDF remnant in Mesoamerica. We set up nine plots, three per successional stage, and we measured and identified 1,072 trees from 96 species. Species richness and diversity indices were higher for the intermediate stage. Monoecy was the most common breeding system, as in other tropical life zones. Insects were the dominant pollinators, facilitated by the trees' small inflorescences. Wind was found to be not only the next most influential pollinator, mainly in open and disturbed early forests, but also it was also a good seed dispersal agent. As TDF age increases so does the relevancy of birds and mammals as dispersers; the late stage therefore has more tree species with adaptations to these dispersers.

© 2015 Branko Hilje, Julio Calvo-Alvarado, César Jiménez-Rodríguez and Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa. This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The license permits any user to download, print out, extract, archive, and distribute the article, so long as appropriate credit is given to the authors and source of the work. The license ensures that the published article will be as widely available as possible and that your article can be included in any scientific archive. Open Access authors retain the copyrights of their papers. Open access is a property of individual works, not necessarily journals or publishers.
Branko Hilje, Julio Calvo-Alvarado, César Jiménez-Rodríguez, and Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa "Tree species composition, breeding systems, and pollination and sispersal syndromes in three forest successional stages in a tropical dry forest in Mesoamerica," Tropical Conservation Science 8(1), 76-94, (23 March 2015). https://doi.org/10.1177/194008291500800109
Received: 7 July 2014; Accepted: 8 December 2014; Published: 23 March 2015
KEYWORDS
Costa Rica
Dioecy
monoecy
Santa Rosa National Park
species richness
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