Many plants in tropical rainforest can link seed dispersal

A recent study shows that the distribution of trees in tropical rainforests is highly dependent on how each species releases seeds. Research helps explain how many trees in tropical rainforests can coexist in a small area.

Joshua B. Plotkin from Harvard University and Tristram Seidler from Royal University in the United Kingdom conducted analysis of dispersion mechanisms and spatial distribution of 561 species of trees in a 50-hectare plot of thermal forest. Pasoh Forest Reserve basin in Malaysia. Research results show that small fruit trees tend to be less widely distributed than larger fruit trees. This suggests that larger species of birds and mammals carry the seeds of these plants to more remote areas.

'In general, there is a very important relationship between how seeds are dispersed and the arrangement and concentration of mature trees in the tropical rainforest,' says Plotkin. Scientists say their research is the first experimental evidence of such trends for the entire forest community and these findings are similar to other forest areas.

'Our results provide evidence based on clear experimentation on the importance of dispersal in forming long-term rainforest community structures , ' Plotkin added.

Thien Kha