New research finds tropical forest disturbance goes beyond species loss and includes a shift towards smaller seeds and an increase in the proportion of trees dispersed by animals, impacting how the ecosystem functions.
The findings are published in the British Ecological Society journal, Journal of Ecology. The study looked at areas in the Brazilian Amazon with varying levels of disturbance from activities like logging or burning. The researchers found that not only did human disturbance reduce overall tree diversity, it increased the proportion of trees with seeds dispersed by animals as opposed to other mechanisms like wind.
Disturbance also led to a significant shift towards small-seeded species, which are more likely to be dispersed by smaller animals like birds and bats. It is not clear if these trees can support larger fruit-eating animals that specialise in large-seeded plants and are important for their seed dispersal.
The researchers observed similar effects in secondary (re-grown) forests recovering from clear felling. Older secondary forest had functionally similar plants to the most heavily disturbed primary forest.
Continue reading at British Ecological Survey
Image via British Ecological Survey
