Effect Of Seed Size, Shape And Tannin Content On Seed Fate And Dispersal Of Artificial Seeds

In an attempt to investigate the effect of size, shape, nutritional content as well as tannin content on seed dispersal and seed fate, we carried out field and semi-natural enclosure experiments in Xiaoxing'an mountain areas of Heilongjiang province in the 2009 and 2010 between the July and October. Using artificial seeds made of floor, peanut powder and tannin. The results were as follows:(1) Artificial seed size is one of the main factors influencing seed fates and dispersal distances. Rodents preferred large seeds for scatterhoarding, while small seeds tended to be eaten in situ and exhibited low possibility of being cached;(2) Contray to our prediction, shape and nutrition content of artificial seeds did not show any influence on seed removal, seed dispersal and seed fates;(3) Both field and enclosure experiments indicated that tannin contents showed significantly impact on seed fates and dispersal distances of artificial seeds. Small rodents tended consumed high tannin seeds instantly, while cached a large proportion of seeds containing low tannins. High tannin seeds were dispersed significantly further than those with low level of tannin concentrations;(4) We found no integrative effects of seed size and tannin concentration on seed removal, seed dispersal and seed fates. However, large seeds with low tannin concentration were highly preferred over thos with small size and high tannins;(5) Our enclosure and field experiments indicated that Apodemus peninsulae and Tamias sibiricus were key rodent species participating in seed dispersal and regeneration of local tree species bearing large seeds.