Although the dispersal is important for riparian plants, few studies
have evaluated the patterns in species richness and composition of
propagules deposited by different dispersal types. In the present study
we evaluate the temporal and spatial patterns in the diversity of
propagules deposited by hydrochory and by other types of dispersal along
mountain rivers. To do this, we sampled the propagules deposited in the
riparian zone in a distance gradient with respect to the site of origin
of the rivers in two seasons. Regarding the temporal analyses, we found
no differences in the number of propagules between seasons. In the rainy
season we observed a greater number of species deposited by hydrochory,
while for other types of dispersal there was a greater number of species
in the dry season. Differences in composition were observed for
hydrochory but not for other types of dispersal. Regarding the spatial
analyses, there were no changes in the number of propagules deposited
along the river by hydrochory, while for other types of dispersal an
increase was observed in the dry season. A lower number of species
deposited by hydrochory along the river in the rainy season was
observed. Finally, we observed that turnover increases by other types of
dispersal in the dry season but not for hydrochory. The results
underline the importance of types of dispersal other than hydrochory in
the contribution of propagules dispersed and the temporal and spatial
particularities of the hydrochory in mountain rivers.