Soil seed bank, seed removal, and germination in a seasonally dry tropical forest in Veracruz, Mexico

The soil seed bank has a limited role in the seasonal dry tropical forest regeneration process, but seed removal and germi- nation can also be limiting factors during the early forest recovery. In central Veracruz, Mexico, the soil seed bank was determined en fi ve fallows and two forests. Seed bank decreased from fallow to forest (1,303 to 101 seeds m -2 ); herbs and grasses predomi- nated, thus the similarity between species composition of seed bank and vegetation was low. Seed removal and germination were evaluated for Acacia cochliacantha, Caesalpinia cacalaco, Ipomoea wolcottiana, and Senna atomaria, in contrasting habitats re- presented by pasture, fallow and forest. Seed removal was determined under treatments of total access, rodent exclosure, and insect exclosure. Caesalpinia (largest seeds) showed the lowest seed removal (5%), whereas Senna (63%) and Ipomoea (29%) showed the highest. Rodent exclosure reduced seed removal for Ipomoea (medium-sized seeds); and insect exclosure reduced removal for Senna and Acacia (small seeds). With the exception of Senna (18% germination), the scarifi ed seeds displayed the highest germi- nation percentage (53-99%). For all species, germination was higher in forest than in open habitats, only Senna seeds presented the lowest germination percentage in the forest habitat. Results suggested that in the dry forest of Veracruz, current seed removal may not limit forest regeneration. We suggest seed scarifi cation of some species for use in restoration activities.