Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 84 (2): 279-287, 2011
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Denied density-dependent seedling recruitment in a fragmented forest does not
decrease seedling diversity
Negative density-dependent relationships in plant communities are currently
claimed as an important mechanism for the maintenance of plant diversity. However, anthropogenic perturbations such as
forest fragmentation might modify such relationships. We evaluated density-dependent relationships between seed and
seedling abundance of a tree assemblage in a fragmented forest for estimating seed-to seedling transitions and their effects
on seedling richness. In continuous forest, two out of four and one out of four species presented significant or a tendency to
exhibit negative seedling recruitment which is in agreement with other temperate and tropical forests. In forest fragments
(1-6 ha), however, this relationship was uncoupled. Seedling richness and diversity, assessed through Shannon-Wiener
Index, did not differ between both types of sites. Therefore, forest fragmentation negatively affected seedling recruitment
by uncoupling seed-to-seedling transitions, but not by diminishing seedling diversity. This leads to considering the role of
density-dependent relationships for the maintenance of plant diversity in communities and claims for including forest
fragments into conservation programmes.
Key words:
density-
dependent recruitment, diversity, forest fragmentation, seedlings, seeds
