Theory 48/Tropical Rainforest/Regeneration
Regeneration Needs Dispersers
The claim
Rainforest regeneration requires a threshold in seed dispersal, so a forest that has lost its frugivores cannot recover its composition even if the soil and climate are intact.
01Mechanism
Large-seeded trees depend on animals; without dispersal, seedlings are concentrated under parents where competition and mortality are high.
02Prediction
Recovery should stall below a dispersal threshold.
03Refutation
Recovery independent of dispersers would remove the mechanism.