Tropical Seed Trait Database: advancing seed functional ecology in the world's most biodiverse region Davi N. Oliveira, Carlos A. Ordóñez‐Parra, Si‐Chong Chen, A. Elizabeth Arnold, Adam S. Davis, et al. New Phytologist, 2026 Summary Plant functional traits connect biodiversity to ecosystem processes, serving as key metrics for assessing how biota responds to environmental conditions. Functional seed traits are critical because they underpin recruitment and colonization, shaping biodiversity patterns and influencing ecosystem resilience. Yet, seed traits remain underrepresented in major data repositories, with severe gaps in the tropics. Climatic, geological, and historical differences between tropical and temperate regions drive distinct regeneration dynamics, suggesting that the paucity of tropical seed trait data limits our ability to predict regeneration niches and weakens global models largely based on temperate ecosystems. To address this gap, we introduce the Tropical Seed Trait Database (TSTD), an open‐access repository spanning the full ecological spectrum of tropical seeds. The TSTD is conceived as a community‐driven repository of primary data contributed directly by data owners, rather than as a secondary aggregation of global databases. It was built through contributions from ecologists working across all tropical regions, reached through direct contact, and its first version compiles 78 datasets, totaling 137 583 records across 44 functional traits. Covering 5115 species in 33 countries, with the Neotropics overrepresented, the TSTD marks a crucial step toward more inclusive, globally representative trait databases that can open multiple research avenues.
Notes on morphology of fruits, seeds, and seedlings of Chromolucuma flavilatex (Sapotaceae) from central Amazonia Caroline da Cruz Vasconcelos, Yasmin Harbi Qasem Easa Al Tareireh, Daniel da Silva Costa, Geângelo Petene Calvi, José Luís Campana Camargo, et al. Feddes Repertorium, 2024 This paper aims to describe and illustrate the fruits, seeds, and seedlings of Chromolucuma flavilatex (Chrysophylloideae, Sapotaceae) from central Amazonia and briefly discusses their taxonomic relevance. The observed characters can support our hypothesis that embryo morphology and seedling type are consistent in Chromolucuma species, as well as in other genera of Chrysophylloideae. In addition, we complement the original description of the fruits and seeds of C. flavilatex collected from the same tree of the type specimen and provide descriptions and illustrations of the early stages of seedling development of this species to facilitate its recognition.
Behind the forest restoration scene: a socio-economic, technical-scientific and political snapshot in Amazonas, Brazil Mariana Condé MARQUES, Geângelo Petene CALVI, Hugh W. PRITCHARD, Isolde Dorothea Kossmann FERRAZ Acta Amazonica, 2022 Conservation of the Amazon rainforest is a global concern and is supported by the Brazilian government’s ratification of the Bonn Challenge and Paris Agreement and the introduction of national regulations on vegetation protection and restoration. Amazonas is the largest and least deforested of the states occupied by the Brazilian Amazon (< 3%). We carried out a survey on the current state and growth potential of seed and seedling production in Amazonas state, pointing out constraints where future investment can promote the achievement of large-scale restoration commitments. We visited the 35 officially registered seed producers or nurseries working with native seeds and interviewed their owners or managers using open and closed questions. Enterprises were mainly privately-owned family businesses with small production (10,001 - 100,000 seedlings per year) and concentrated in the metropolitan area of the state capital Manaus. We uncovered a further 54 non-officially registered nurseries. Annual production (2018) was almost four tons of seeds and nearly ten million seedlings. According to the owners, production could be increased five to seven times with existing infrastructure. Production is focused foremost on species for food production (48% seeds, 74% seedlings), while ecological restoration only makes up 35% of seed and 8% of seedling use. Major bottlenecks cited by the producers were low demand for native tree species, high transportation costs and excessive bureaucracy. To achieve large-scale restoration, we recommend enforcement of national policies for vegetation protection and restoration, and a restructuring of the seed and seedling sector with a bottom-up approach.
Degree of seed desiccation sensitivity of the amazonian palm oenocarpus bacaba depends on the criterion for germination Lydiane Lucia de Sousa BASTOS, Geângelo Petene CALVI, Manuel de Jesus Vieira LIMA JÚNIOR, Isolde Dorothea Kossmann FERRAZ Acta Amazonica, 2021 Across the seed-seedling transition, several germination criteria are used in studies of palm-seed germination. In Oenocarpus bataua, these criteria have differential tolerance to thermal stress. In this study, we evaluated the tolerance of germination criteria to seed desiccation of the congeneric Oenocarpus bacaba. We dried seeds to different moisture contents (MC) before scoring first cataphyll, second cataphyll, enclosed eophyll and expanded eophyll. Seeds without drying had 41.7% MC. Germination success reached close to 70% after 75 and 105 days, depending on the germination criterion. Safe MC was close to initial MC and all seeds were dead with MC < 26.7%. As the primordial organs of the cataphylls and the eophyll are already detectable in the palm-seed embryo, all were affected by drying. Critical MC, defined here as 50% loss of germination capacity, increased from 35.4% (first cataphyll) to 37.1% (expanded eophyll) and confirmed that, across the seed-seedling transition, more advanced germination stages had a higher sensitivity to desiccation. During germination and development, the criteria appear in sequence over several weeks. Consequently, the desiccation damage was only detectable when the last criterion was evaluated. To avoid an underestimation of damages, we suggest that seed-stress studies in palms should take into account an adequate period for seedling development, which, for O. bacaba, was 105 days until the expansion of the eophyll.
Exceptional flooding tolerance in the totipotent recalcitrant seeds of Eugenia stipitata Geângelo P. Calvi, Antônio M. G. Anjos, Ilse Kranner, Hugh W. Pritchard, Isolde D. K. Ferraz Seed Science Research, 2017 Eugenia stipitataoccurs along rivers in Western Amazonia and produces berry-type fruits with economic potential. Its large recalcitrant (i.e. desiccation-intolerant) seeds have been proposed as a model to study seed stress response, as no apparent differentiation between the embryonic axis and the fused cotyledons are visible. Here, the longevity of submerged seeds was analysed with a view to understanding adaptive mechanisms to seasonal flooding. Submerged seeds began germinating after 2 months. After 1 year, 87 and 96% total germination was reached when seeds were submerged under a water column of 6 cm (where seedlings could emerge from under the water) and 26 cm (where seedlings could not reach the water surface), respectively. Seedling morphology was altered underwater, with short internodes and rudimentary leaf blades, and when submersion was terminated, seedlings transplanted to nursery conditions recovered a normal phenotype. Furthermore, when seedlings were detached from the seeds, the ‘resown’ seeds produced a second, normal seedling within 9 months. Concentrations of the antioxidant glutathione, which was measured as a stress marker, increased with submersion time in water. Seeds that had developed roots and shoots underwater had higher concentrations of glutathione disulphide than non-germinated seeds, suggesting that the flooding stress was more intense for seedlings than seeds, although more oxidizing cellular redox environments are also consistent with the conditions required for differentiation. Submergence underwater is recommended for storage of the recalcitrant seeds ofE. stipitatafor up to 1 year.
