Journal article

Publication year: 1995

Pages: 313-329

Journal: Acta Oecologica

Volume number: 16

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 1146-609X

Publisher: Elsevier

Abstract: 
The seed rain of 13 fleshy-fruited species has been investigated for one year along a transect from a mature stand of scrubland through a pioneer stand into abandoned wet grassland in Southwestern Germany. The seed rain was greatest in the mature scrub, smaller in the pioneer scrub, and sparse in the grassland; bird-mediated seed rain reflected strongly the differences in abundance of fruit. Birds were the main dispersers of seeds; dispersal by carnivorous mammals was negligible. Mist-netting of migrant passerines revealed highest abundance of frugivorous birds (13 species) in mature scrub, thus explaining the spatial pattern of seed rain. Although the peak time of fruit abundance coincided with autumn migration of the birds, utilisation of fruit was lower in this period than in the rest of the year, indicating satiation of the migrants. An experimental test of seed predation by rodents revealed highest losses of seeds beneath mature scrub and only slow disappearance in the grassland. We suppose that dispersal of seeds by birds is a limiting factor for colonization of set-aside grassland by fleshy-fruited plants.

Harvard Citation style: KOLLMANN, J. and PIRL, M. (1995) SPATIAL PATTERN OF SEED RAIN OF FLESHY-FRUITED PLANTS IN A SCRUBLAND GRASSLAND TRANSITION, Acta Oecologica, 16(3), pp. 313-329

APA Citation style: KOLLMANN, J., & PIRL, M. (1995). SPATIAL PATTERN OF SEED RAIN OF FLESHY-FRUITED PLANTS IN A SCRUBLAND GRASSLAND TRANSITION. Acta Oecologica. 16(3), 313-329.