ABSTRACT Ecological restoration by direct seeding in the Cerrado biome still lacks information about native species germination, the need for dormancy overcoming and seed bank formation. This study aims to verify the effects of dormancy overcoming on germination of four tree species and the ability of 12 tree species to form seed banks for restoration use. Our results showed wide variation of species’ germination rates. Overcoming dormancy enhanced germination for Dimorphandra mollis, Hymenaea stigonocarpa, and Peltophorum dubium and decreased it for Copaifera langsdorffii, but was only cost-effective for H. stigonocarpa. Regarding the ability to form seed banks, only H. stigonocarpa and Cecropia pachystachya germinated and live seedlings of Terminalia corrugata were found after being buried for six months, thus forming a transient seed bank. Despite the fact that overcoming dormancy may optimize germination after direct seeding, maintaining dormancy mechanisms of species that can form seed banks could be essential for species establishment over time in restoration areas. Hence, our key decision criteria based on seed costs and seed and labor availability would be useful for the seeding actions of restoration practitioners.

Whether management intervention is required to control biological invasions depends primarily on demonstrating species losses resulting from such invasions. Brackens of the Pteridium genus are currently regarded as a problem species that act as important ecological filters in the assembly of invaded communities. We investigated the effects of Pteridium arachnoideum invasion on the diversity, structure, floristic composition, and functional traits of cerradão in Assis, São Paulo, Brazil. We compared an invaded site with an adjacent non-invaded site. Bracken constrained the establishment of tree species, resulting in a community structure remarkably distinct from the non-invaded area. The density and basal area of the arboreal community were higher in non-invaded areas, but large trees were more frequent in the invaded areas. However, bracken did not reduce tree species diversity. Both richness and diversity were higher in the invaded area, indicating that over time, tree species richness and diversity naturally recovered, albeit slowly, in the invaded area. Therefore, one cannot attribute the loss of richness in the Cerrado vegetation to bracken invasion. Hence, we argue that, in this system, eradication of this invasive species is not likely to be cost effective, and thus, it should be a low management priority.