DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1c1g42k
title: Data from: Demographic costs and benefits of natural regeneration during tropical forest restoration

description: 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.
description: Reproductive
 ratesReproduction 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.csvGrowth ratesData 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.csvPresence/absence dataPresence/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.csvAll natural recruitsTotal 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.csvAll reproductive recruitsTotal 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