Lluvia y banco de semillas en escenarios de restauración ecológica de un bosque seco tropical interandino

Abstract

In the face of the global tropical dry forests threats, the natural regeneration potential becomes a diagnostic tool to anticipate the need for assisted restoration. We analyzed the influence of exotic grasses on rainfall and seed banks in abandoned grasslands of an inter-Andean tropical dry forest (Huila-Colombia). We installed 42 seed traps and regeneration plots along transects, ranging from the propagule source (forest) to the advancement edge at 5, 25, 50, 75, and 125 meters. A total of 28 685 seeds were collected (60% in the dry season) and 9 204 seedlings germinated (57% in the wet season). Significant differences were found in the floristic composition of seed rain and seed bank, in the dry and wet seasons, as well as a decrease in seed abundance and richness with increasing distance from the propagule source. This demonstrates that the presence of exotic grasses creates conditions that hinder the natural regeneration process, highlighting the high level of human intervention in the area and the need for an assisted restoration process.