Long-term persistence of pioneer species in tropical rain forest soil seed banks

Abstract

Abstract: In tropical forests, pioneer tree species regenerate from seeds dispersed directly into canopy gaps and from seeds that persisted in soil seed banks before gap formation. LifeâEUR history models have suggested that selection for the longâEUR term persistence of tree seeds in the soil should be weak because persistence potentially reduces population growth rate by extending generation time and because adult life spans may exceed the return interval of favorable recruitment sites. Here we use accelerator mass spectrometry to carbonâEUR date seeds of three pioneer tree species extracted from undisturbed seed banks in seasonally moist lowland Neotropical forest. We show that seeds of Croton billbergianus, Trema micrantha, and Zanthoxylum ekmannii germinate successfully from surface soil microsites after 38, 31, and 18 years, respectively. DecadesâEUR long persistence may be common in largeâEUR seeded tropical pioneers and appears to be unrelated to specific regeneration requirements.