ABSTRACT
In tropical dry forests (TDFs), anemochory is usually reported as the most common seed dispersal syndrome (Bullock 1995; Nunes et al. 2012). The period of dispersal for these wind-dispersed seeds is the dry season, whereas that for zoochorous plants is usually the rainy season (Lima et al. 2008). Seeds that are dispersed during the dry season and at the beginning of the rainy season germinate immediately after the rst rains (Garwood 1983). This strategy seems to be an adaptive characteristic of some plants to maximize the efciency of water use for seedling establishment (Garwood 1983). However, some seeds are not able to germinate, even when exposed to favorable environmental conditions, due to several factors, such as the tegument impermeability to water and oxygen (Labouriau 1983), immature or undeveloped embryos, special requirements of light or temperature conditions, and the presence of inhibitors of growth, among others (Baskin and Baskin 1998).
