Return to search

Factors affecting natural tree regeneration in abandoned pastures in Panama

Our objective was to identify the major barriers to natural regeneration of tree species in abandoned Panamanian pastures as a first step in formulating management strategies to facilitate forest recovery. We tested whether fire, seed dispersal, and the presence of an introduced grass, Saccharum spontaneum L., were barriers to forest regeneration. We examined growth, survival, and density of both experimentally-introduced and naturally-regenerating tree seedlings using a series of multifactorial experiments. / We found that seed dispersal limits forest regeneration. Large-seeded species have the highest performance in the Saccharum spontaneum, but were found in the lowest abundance in natural conditions. Small-seeded species were most frequently observed, but they have the lowest survival. We conclude that dispersal limitations preclude entry of the larger-seeded species. Distance from the forest limits dispersal of many small-seeded species. Fire is a major barrier to natural regeneration because it lowers species diversity.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.30667
Date January 1999
CreatorsHooper, Elaine R.
ContributorsPotvin, C. (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Science (Department of Biology.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001744489, proquestno: MQ64371, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

Page generated in 0.0016 seconds