Seed production, seed dispersal and seedling establishment of two afromontane tree species in and around a church forest: implications for forest restoration

Abstract

Background: Seed production, seed dispersal and seedling establishment are relevant life phases of plants. Understanding these processes and their patterns is essential to recognize vegetation dynamics and to apply it to forest restoration. Methods: For Olea europaea and Schefflera abyssinica, fecundity was estimated using randomized branch sampling. Seed dispersal and seedling establishment were monitored using spatially explicit seed traps and plots. Dispersal functions were calibrated applying inverse modeling. Results: O. europaea produced more seeds and had longer dispersal distances compared to S. abyssinica. Correlations between observed and predicted number of recruits were statistically significant. Seedlings of the two species showed different niche requirements. Conclusions: The studied species were recruitment-limited due to low dispersal activity or lack of suitable microsites. Restoration relying on natural regeneration should overcome these limitations by increasing disperser visitation and reducing biotic and abiotic stresses.