Patterns of frequency and abundance of plant dispersal systems in Colombian forests and its relationship with the geographical regions of the country

Abstract

The study of plant dispersal systems allows to go in depth in aspects that define the regeneration of forests, being essential to understand not only the population dynamics of plants but also the ecological relationships that emerge within ecosystems. In Colombia there is not a broad scale study showing the patterns of frequency and abundance of dispersal systems in different geographical regions (Amazonian, Andean, Caribbean, Upper Magdalena, Middle Magdalena, Orinoco, Pacific). Based on information of the identity and abundance of plants found in 101 vegetation plots of 1-ha, we explored the differences and associations in the frequency and abundance of dispersal systems between geographic regions. Additionally, we explored the importance value of families and genera per dispersal system, and the association between genera and geographic regions. The results show that environmental factors would be more important than the biogeographic history of the region in determining patterns of dispersal systems, reinforcing the importance of seed dispersal mediated by animals in tropical forests of different biogeographic regions.