In tropical forests, about 60%–80% of woody plant species depend on animal–plant interactions for dispersal. The dependence on animal species for dispersal makes this interaction very fragile in the face of anthropogenic changes in land use. Disrupting seed‐dispersal processes, principally zoochoric dispersal, could significantly alter the long‐term carbon storage potential of tropical forests. An important question is how landscape structure changes tree carbon stocks in different types of tropical vegetation and how variation is mediated by the dispersal mode of animal (zoochoric) or abiotic (non‐zoochoric) seeds. We focused on tree plots at 126 sites in Brazil spanning four types of forest and savanna vegetation, and calculated carbon stored in zoochoric, non‐zoochoric, and large frugivore‐dispersed species. Our results showed that carbon stocks in zoochoric species and non‐zoochoric species differ significantly among vegetation types, with rainforests having higher stocks in zoochoric species and deciduous seasonally dry tropical forests having higher values in non‐zoochoric species. A greater area of native vegetation promotes higher proportions of carbon stocks dispersed by large frugivore species, whereas a higher mean shape index reduces this proportion. Synthesis. This study highlights that seed‐dispersal type underpins the variation in carbon stocks between vegetation types and that the maintenance of habitat of large dispersers and connectivity are key for retaining carbon stocks in zoochoric species, particularly in rainforest and cerrado sensu stricto.

中文翻译：

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种子传播模式和栖息地连通性支撑巴西生物群落之间碳储存的变化

在热带森林中，大约 60%–80% 的木本植物物种依靠动植物相互作用进行传播。面对人为的土地利用变化，对动物物种传播的依赖使得这种相互作用非常脆弱。破坏种子传播过程，主要是动物传播，可能会显着改变热带森林的长期碳储存潜力。 一个重要的问题是景观结构如何改变不同类型热带植被中的树木碳储量，以及动物（动物）或非生物（非动物）种子的传播模式如何介导变化。 我们重点研究了巴西 126 个地点的林地，涵盖四种类型的森林和稀树草原植被，并计算了动物、非动物和大型食果动物分散物种中储存的碳。 我们的结果表明，不同植被类型中动物物种和非动物物种的碳储量存在显着差异，雨林中动物物种的碳储量较高，而落叶季节性干燥热带森林中非动物物种的碳储量较高。原生植被面积越大，大型食果动物所分散的碳储量比例就越高，而平均形状指数越高，则降低了这一比例。 合成。这项研究强调，种子传播类型是植被类型之间碳储量变化的基础，维护大型传播者的栖息地和连通性是保留动物物种碳储量的关键，特别是在雨林和严格塞拉多。