© International Society for Tropical Ecology Seed and regeneration ecology in dry Afromontane forests of Ethiopia:

Abstract: A series of events occur in the process of regeneration, namely flowering, seed production and dispersal, incorporation of seeds into the soil, seed predation or germination, seedling establishment and growth and formation of seedling banks. Forests are subjected to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances, which disrupt the process of plant regeneration. In response to these disturbances, succession is triggered in which different plants use varying strategies to regenerate themselves. For instance, tropical forest plants regenerate from one or more pathways, namely seed rain, soil seed bank, seedling bank or advance regeneration and coppice. The objective of this paper is to present the first part of an overview of the available information on seed and regeneration ecology in dry Afromontane forests (DAF) of Ethiopia. The review focuses on: (i) seed production and dispersal; (ii) soil seed banks: incorporation of seeds into the soil, species richness and densities, spatial and temporal variation and depletion of seeds in the soil; (iii) seed dormancy and germination, requirements for seed germination: light, temperature, interaction between light and temperature, scarification, moisture and dry storage; and (iv) seedling banks, seedling survival, seedling growth and population structures of woody plants. Thematic areas for future research are recommended