For tropical forest restoration to result in long‐term biodiversity gains, native trees must establish self‐sustaining populations in degraded sites. While many have asked how seedling recruitment varies between restoration treatments, the long‐term fate of these recruits remains unknown. We address this research gap by tracking natural recruits of 27 species during the first 7 years of a tropical forest restoration experiment that included both planted and naturally regenerating plots. We used an individual‐based model to estimate the probability that a seedling achieves reproductive maturity after several years of growth and survival. We found an advantage for recruits in naturally regenerating plots, with up to 40% increased probability of reproduction in this treatment, relative to planted plots. The demographic advantage of natural regeneration was highest for mid‐successional species, with relatively minor differences between treatments for early‐successional species. Our research demonstrates the consequences of restoration decision making across the life cycle of tropical tree species.
Reproductive rates
Reproduction for twenty-seven tree species observed flowering or fruiting during the first seven years of a reforestation experiment. Reproduction (column "REPRODUCTION" in data) was coded as a 1 if the individual was observed flowering or fruiting during a particular census and 0 otherwise. The column "CENSUS" represents the numeric id of each census (18 total), "ID" represents the unique ID of each individual plant, "SPECIES" represents the species name, "PLOT" represents the identity of the 30 x 30 m plot, "SUBPLOT" represents the identity of 13 x 13 m plots within each plot, "TREATMENT" represents the planting treatment (A=animal-dispersed plantings, W=wind-dispersed plantings, C=Control), "SIZE" represents the basal diameter (in mm) of each individual, and "YEAR" represents the year of each census.
reproduction_data.csv
Growth rates
Data on growth for fifty tree species during the first seven years of a reforestation experiment. Growth rates (column "GROWTH" in data) represent the difference in individual size (basal diameter measured in mm) between consecutive censuses. The column "CENSUS" represents the numeric id of each census, "ID" represents the unique ID of each individual plant, "SPECIES" represents the species name, "PLOT" represents the identity of the 30 x 30 m plot, "SUBPLOT" represents the identity of 13 x 13 m plots within each plot, "TREATMENT" represents the planting treatment (A=animal-dispersed plantings, W=wind-dispersed plantings, C=Control), "SIZE" represents the basal diameter (in mm) of each individual (at the start of each growth interval), "YEAR" represents the year of each census, and "MONTH" represents months since surveys began.
growth_data.csv
Presence/absence data
Presence/absence of natural recruits during the first seven years of a reforestation experiment. Presence is represented by 18 columns, each named "Presence_" followed by the numeric identity of each census. Prior to the first record of individual occurrence, presence is recorded as "NA." After first occurrence, each individual was recorded as "1" if it was present during that particular census and "0" if it was absent. The column "ID" represents the unique ID of each individual plant, "SPECIES" represents the species name, "PLOT" represents the identity of the 30 x 30 m plot, "SUBPLOT" represents the identity of 13 x 13 m plots within each plot, "TREATMENT" represents the planting treatment (A=animal-dispersed plantings, W=wind-dispersed plantings, C=Control), "FIRST_SIZE" represents the basal diameter (in mm) of each individual during the first census in which it was recorded.
survival_data.csv
All natural recruits
Total number of natural recruits of each species that recruited in experimental plots during the course of the study. The column "COUNT" represents the total number of each species in each 13 x 13 m subplot. The column "SPECIES" represents the species name, "PLOT" represents the identity of the 30 x 30 m plot, "SUBPLOT" represents the identity of 13 x 13 m plots within each plot, and "TRT" represents the planting treatment (A=animal-dispersed plantings, W=wind-dispersed plantings, C=Control).
all_recruits.csv
All reproductive recruits
Total number of natural recruits of each species that recruited in experimental plots and reproduced during the course of the study. The column "COUNT" represents the total number of reproductive individuals of each species in each 13 x 13 m subplot. The column "SPECIES" represents the species name, "PLOT" represents the identity of the 30 x 30 m plot, "SUBPLOT" represents the identity of 13 x 13 m plots within each plot, and "TRT" represents the planting treatment (A=animal-dispersed plantings, W=wind-dispersed plantings, C=Control).
reproductive_recruits.csv