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Background: In the seasonal tropics, fire generally occurs in the dry season. Consequently, the effects of fire and dry season drought on seedling establishment of different tree functional types are correlated. Therefore, factors that are more important for tree recruitment in forest-savanna ecotones are still poorly understood. Methods: We studied seedling establishment success of seven tropical tree species (of forest and forest-savanna transition origins) in a common garden experiment using combinations of dry season (irrigation vs no-irrigation) and fire (burning vs no-burning). Results: We found that burning caused a significant decline in survival of forest species, but not of forest-savanna transition species. The combination of burning without dry season irrigation (which typifies dry season fire) had the largest overall effect on survival, mass and height of plants. The separate effect of burning was larger than that of dry season drought. Seedling size at the onset of the dry season significantly predicted root starch content and, hence, dry season survival probability of forest-savanna transition species, but not of forest species. Dry season irrigation increased post-fire survival of forest-savanna transition species, but not of forest species, possibly linked to differences in resprout capacity and root starch reserves. Conclusion: Our work shows that fire and dry season drought produce a stronger negative effect together, than their separate effects on seedling establishment particularly of forest species. This provides a mechanistic explanation for the existence of forest-savanna transition species in fire-prone humid savannas. Implications for Conservation: The mosaic of forest, transitional and savanna vegetation within the forest-savanna ecotone reflects the influences of fire and dry season drought. Any changes in these elements will influence vegetation dynamics within the forest-savanna ecotone.