Site and plant community parameters drive the effect of vegetation on litterfall and nutrient inputs in restored tropical forests

Background and aimsRestoring healthy ecosystem depends on recovering not only biodiversity, but also ecosystem processes and functionality. We investigated the effects of tree community parameters and site abiotic conditions on nutrient cycling in restored forests.MethodsWe assessed litter production and nutrient inputs in five 16-year old restored forests established using different restoration methods and species combinations, i.e. unplanted control (natural regeneration), direct seeding, agroforestry, mixed commercial species plantation (commercial mix), and high-diversity plantation, replicated at two sites that differed in soil fertility. We used adjacent seasonal semideciduous forest remnants as references.ResultsRestoration treatments with intermediate and high species richness had higher litter and nutrient inputs and did not differ from the reference forest. In the more fertile site, litter and nutrient inputs increased across different treatments with increasing stand density, whereas in the low fertility site, litter and nutrient inputs in the different treatments increased with increasing tree species richness and the proportion of putative nitrogen-fixing tree species.ConclusionsRestoration treatments, even those with low species richness, but with a relatively high proportion of trees with nitrogen-fixing capability might be effective in restoring nutrient cycles in lower fertility soils, whereas in the more fertile soils it is possible to increase nutrient inputs by establishing restoration treatments at high stem densities. Our results suggest that the magnitude of relationships among plant community parameters and nutrient cycling depends strongly on site conditions

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data