Tally of seeds collected in seed-rain traps and the trees around the traps in Guánica Forest, Puerto Rico

Tropical dry forests that experience severe disturbances often remain degraded for long time periods, during which non‐native grasses and trees dominate. One barrier to native tree regeneration in degraded areas may be seed dispersal limitation. To better understand how dispersal limitation influences recovery from degradation, we tested whether the mode and rates of seed dispersal differed in degraded sites dominated either by the exotic tree Leucaena leucocephala or open areas dominated by introduced pasture grasses. We also tested whether L. leucocephala stands facilitate the recruitment of native trees by increasing their seed input compared to open grass areas.