A systematic review of nurse objects as safe sites for seedling establishment and implications for restoration.

Abstract

Direct human activity and global climatic changes are threatening the existence of many vegetated habitats. Seedling establishment, one of the riskiest plant life stages, must be successful for such habitats to persist. The establishment of seedlings is known to be enhanced by nurse effects, but most studies to date have looked at the nursing effects of plants while sidelining inanimate objects. Nevertheless, nurse objects can support seedling establishment via diverse mechanisms such as moderating abiotic stresses like extreme temperatures and drought, reducing negative biological interactions such as herbivory while enhancing positive processes like seed dispersal, and providing protection from physical disturbances such as trampling and fire. The robust nature of nurse objects highlights their potential in habitat restoration. The addition of nurse objects allows a simple, single-effort rehabilitation strategy that can later draw on natural seed dispersal and establishment. By achieving a better understanding of the processes in which nurse objects are involved we should be able to better predict vegetation dynamics and manipulate them to minimize adverse processes and support regeneration in natural habitats.