Can pollination syndromes indicate ecologicalrestoration success in tropical forests?

Abstract

We evaluated the pollination syndromes of plant species occurring in revegetated patches of riparian Atlantic Forest in orderto evaluate the success of restoration process. Between March 2013 and January 2014, the oral traits of all of the oweringplants found in, among four restoration sites of different ages and one reference site, were recorded and used to characterizepollination syndromes. Richness, abundance, and composition of pollination syndromes were related to season, age and widthof the forest fragment, species richness and abundance of sampled plants, and also to the quality of the surrounding matrix.There were differences in the composition of syndromes among sampling units and among seasons. Richness and abundanceof pollination syndromes varied among climatic periods, the highest values occurred at the end of the dry season and the startof the rainy season. Older, wider, and areas with more plants had higher values of richness and abundance of syndromes.The quality of the surrounding matrix inuences only the richness of syndromes. It was concluded that oral traits are goodindicators of ecological restoration of riparian forests and that the surrounding matrix contributes to the greater richness ofsyndromes. However, when planning for active restoration, attention should be given to the proper choice of plant species onthe basis of pollination syndromes that should attract pollinators.