Tree fall gaps have been identified as important sites for plant recruitment. In this study, we compared seed
rain between forest gaps and forest interior using 150 seed traps in the understory and 19 traps in gaps in
a 24 ha permanent plot of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in East China. We asked how total
seed abundance and seed species richness, the relative representation of different dispersal modes, and
seed limitation and its components differed between canopy gaps and the understory. Results showed that
most of the species found in both the understory and in gaps were animal-dispersal, but most of the seed
rainwas comprised of wind-dispersed species in both habitats. No significant differences in either density
or diversity of seeds between gaps and non-gap sites were found. Contrary to expectations, winddispersed
seeds did not occur significantly more in treefall gaps than in the forest understory. There
were also no significant differences in seed limitation and its components (source limitation, dispersal
limitation) between the understory and gaps. Seed limitation was strong for all but a few of the bestdispersed
species in both gap and understory seed traps. Source and dispersal limitation showed large
inter-specific variation in both the understory and in gaps. Overall, our results indicate that: (i) gaps may
play a neutral role in maintaining seed diversity in this subtropical forest; (ii) under strong seed limitation
both in gaps and in the understory, population and community dynamics slows and ecological drift in
species composition may become a more important determinant of community structure.