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Seed Dispersal by Animals Influences the Diverse Woody Plant Community on Mopane Woodland Termite Mounds
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Seed Dispersal by Animals Influences the Diverse Woody Plant Community on Mopane Woodland Termite Mounds
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Journal Article
Seed Dispersal by Animals Influences the Diverse Woody Plant Community on Mopane Woodland Termite Mounds
2019
Overview
In African savannahs, mound-building termites induce higher diversity in plant communities. Biotic and abiotic filters, such as nutrients and disturbances (for example, herbivory or fire), may influence the distinct vegetation on termite mounds; however, seed dispersal has not yet been evaluated as a filter in this ecosystem. This study examined the effects of seed dispersal, particularly animal seed dispersal, on the distinct woody plant community on termite mounds in a mopane woodland in north-western Namibia. We compared the functional traits of woody plants related to dispersal, as well as responses to resource availability and disturbance, between plant communities on and those off termite mounds. We conducted vegetation surveys of woody plants in 13 paired mound–savannah plots and measured their functional traits. Soil samples were also collected from 10 of the 13 plots for soil chemical analysis to compare the differences between mound and savannah plots. Drupe-type fruits and dispersal by animals, including mammals and birds, were more dominant in plant communities on termite mounds, whereas pod and winged fruits and winddispersed species were typical in matrix communities. Termite mounds were rich in soil nutrients compared with the surrounding matrix, and soil phosphorus was associated with mound soil. We conclude that dispersal mechanisms contribute to the distinct and diverse woody plant community on termite mounds. Seed dispersal by animals is likely to be more common in the distinct woody plant community of the mounds, whereas the community in the surrounding matrix was characterised by wind dispersal.
Publisher
Springer Science + Business Media,Springer Science and Business Media LLC,Springer US,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
