Landscape configuration and soil properties shape ant-mediated seed dispersal in tropical dry forest agricultural landscapes

Abstract

1. Ant-mediated seed dispersal is a key ecological service in seasonally dry tropicalforests, contributing to plant regeneration and ecosystem resilience. In human-modified landscapes, however, the quality and quantity of these interactions maybe altered by local and landscape-scale environmental factors. 2. We investigated how soil properties and landscape aspects influence ant-mediated seed dispersal in rainfed croplands and natural vegetation remnantswithin the Caatinga, a dry forest biome in northeastern Brazil. Seed removal andseed cleaning were measured using standardized bait experiments, and interact -ing ant species were classified by dispersal quality based on body size. 3. Habitat, soil and landscape context jointly shaped ant-mediated seed disper-sal. Croplands supported more high-quality interactions, while soil pH and sandcontent influenced interaction quality. At the landscape scale, water availabilityand fragmentation reduced seed dispersal components, whereas land-use het-erogeneity increased total interactions, likely through small-bodied, disturbance-tolerant ants. 4. Distinct ant groups provided different seed dispersal components (cleaning vsremoval), shaped by habitat and landscape factors. While plant recruitment andlong-term recovery were not directly assessed, our findings indicate that small-scale rainfed agricultural landscapes can support functional components of ant-mediated seed dispersal with potential relevance for dry forest regeneration.