DOI: 10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmsr8
title: Fruit and Seed fall in southeast Amazonia following experimental fires

description: This dataset was used to investigate how wildfires and edge effects
 affected fruit and seed (FS) production and diversity of a tropical
 forest. The research was conducted in southeast Amazonia from 2005-2018,
 using three 50-hectare plots with varying fire regimes: a control plot, a
 plot burned annually, and a plot burned every three years (with exception
 of 2008). These plots also experienced edge effects, two droughts, and a
 blowdown event. The findings indicate that while low-intensity fires alone
 had a minor impact on FS production, the combined effects of fires,
 droughts, and windthrow led to significant declines in FS diversity and
 production. Additionally, the species composition shifted towards trees
 with acquisitive strategies, characterized by faster growth, thinner
 leaves and bark, and shorter stature, particularly along the edges of the
 burned plots. This research highlights the complex interactions between
 different types of disturbances and their cumulative impact on tropical
 forest ecosystems
description: Litterfall was collected biweekly from August 2004 to August 2018
 using 0.5-m<sup>2</sup> screen litter traps (N: 90 per
 treatment plot) suspended 1 m above the forest floor and distributed
 systematically in grids throughout the plots to capture spatial
 variability random variability and potential edge effects (details in
 Balch et al., 2008). Litter was oven-dried (65<sup>o</sup>C
 for 48 hrs) and weighed to calculate dry mass. Fruits and seeds were
 separated from the litter and identified to species. Of the total
 fruit/seed fall, we could not identify 11 % of the sampled species. Nine
 of these were treated as different morpho species. The same technician
 sorted and identified all species in order to reduce identification
 errors Annual or biannual inventories in the unburned
 Control (details in Balch et al., 2008) were used to calculate maximum
 tree size (based on dbh, 97.5% percentile) and relative tree growth per
 species. In addition, we sampled 413 individuals in the unburned Control
 and 451 in the burned plots for stem-specific density (SSD), maximum tree
 height (MTH), relative growth rate (RGR), specific leaf area (SLA) and
 bark thickness (BT), following Pérez-Harguindeguy et al. (2013). To
 calculate the community-weighted mean, we weighted trait values by the
 relative abundance of each species, which was estimated as the number of
 traps containing the FS of a given species in each year divided by the
 total number of FS traps. We then evaluated how community-weighted traits
 changed over time across the three treatments.
description: # Fruit and Seed fall in southeast Amazonia following experimental fires
 The dataset associated with this study on forest disturbances in southeast
 Amazonia provides comprehensive data collected between 2005 and 2018. It
 includes detailed records from three 50-hectare plots subjected to
 different fire treatments: a control plot with no fire, a plot burned
 annually, and a plot burned every three years, with exception of 2008. The
 data encompasses: 1\. Fruit and Seed (FS) Production: Average weight of
 fruit and seed production across different plots and years, illustrating
 how different fire regimes impact FS output. 2\. FS Species Diversity:
 Information species richness in the FS rain in each plot, showcasing
 changes in biodiversity due to varying disturbance levels. This dataset is
 instrumental in understanding the intricate dynamics of forest resilience
 and species adaptation in response to various disturbances, offering
 valuable insights into the long-term ecological consequences of such
 events in tropical forests. ## Description of the data and file structure
 The data are stored as "csv" files: **1)
 "Annual_Fruit_Seed_Production.csv"** Treat: treatment plots
 Edge_Forest: Whether the measurement was taken along the forest edge &lt;
 200 m from an agricultural field into the forest) or in the forest core.
 Lower: Lower confidence limits based on a nonparametric bootstrap. Mean:
 Mean values Upper: Upper confidence limits based on a nonparametric
 bootstrap. Var: The variable of interest, either FS production or FS in
 litter fall (%) **2) "Species_Richness_Treatment_Time.csv"**
 Treat: treatment plots Year: year of measurement Edge_Forest: Whether the
 measurement was taken along the forest edge &lt; 200 m from an
 agricultural field into the forest) or in the forest core. sp_richness:
 number of species **3) "Standardized_WTrait.csv"** Treat:
 treatment plots Year: year of measurement var: type of trait measured
 x_axis: location of inventory Edge_Forest: Whether the measurement was
 taken along the forest edge &lt; 200 m from an agricultural field into the
 forest) or in the forest core. w_trait: weight mean trait values (units:
 standard deviations)