Tree species that produce resources for fauna are recommended for forest restoration plantings to attract pollinators and seed dispersers; however, information regarding the flowering and fruiting of these species during early growth stages is scarce. We evaluated the reproductive phenology of animal-dispersed tree species widely used in Atlantic Forest restoration. We marked 16 animal-dispersed tree species in 3- to 8-year-old forest restoration plantings in Itu-São Paulo, southeast Brazil. We noted the age of the first reproductive event, flowering and fruiting seasonality, percentage of trees that reached reproductive stages, and intensity of bud, flower, and fruit production for each species. Flowering and fruiting are seasonal for most species; only two, Cecropia pachystachya and Ficus guaranitica, exhibited continuous flowering and fruiting throughout the year; we also identified Schinus terebinthifolia and Dendropanax cuneatus fruiting in the dry season during resource scarcity. Therefore, we recommend all as framework species, that is, species that are animal-dispersed with early flowering and fruiting potential, for forest restoration. Further, we recommend identifying and planting similar animal-dispersed tree species that produce fruits constantly or in the dry season to maximize fauna resource availability throughout the year in tropical forest restoration plantings.

We marked between six and 22 randomly selected individual trees per species per age of plantation. The six plantations are distributed along the Forest Experiment Center, and they were 3- (planted in 2013), 4- (2012), 5- (2011), 6- (2010), 7- (2009), and 8-years old (2008). Trees marked totaled 750 individuals of 16 animal-dispersed species. We observed the reproductive phenology of all marked trees monthly over two years, from September 2015 to August 2017. During this time, we observed the presence/absence of buds, flowers, and unripe and ripe fruits, and we classified these variables using the Fournier semi-quantitative scale (Fournier, 1974). The Fournier scale visually estimates reproductive phenophases using a score of 0 to 4, where 0 denotes absence of a phenophase, and 1, 2, 3, and -4 represent 1-25, 26-50, 51-75, and 76-100% of maximum phenophase intensity, respectively.