Soil seed banks and plant community assembly following disturbance by fire and logging in interior Douglas-fir forests of south-central British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 1548-1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaeli E. Stark ◽  
André Arsenault ◽  
Gary E. Bradfield
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
South Central

Relationships between soil seed banks and aboveground understory vegetation were examined in dry Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Beissn.) Franco) forests near Kamloops, British Columbia, to compare the effects of different disturbance types (low and high severity fires and non-salvage logging), and to evaluate how seed banks contribute to post-disturbance vegetation establishment. Sites were selected to represent disturbances at 1, 5, and 10 years prior to sampling, and data were analyzed using nonparametric univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Seed density and species composition of seed banks did not differ significantly among the 1 year disturbed sites; however, the rooted frequencies of seed-origin plants in the establishing vegetation decreased in the order: lightly burned > severely burned > logged. Seed dispersal within the first year following fire is believed to be an important recovery mechanism on burned sites. Low frequencies of seed-derived plants, particularly conifer seedlings, on logged sites pose concerns for the initial recovery of vegetation following logging; nonetheless, the lack of significant differences in understory species composition between sites burned 5 years prior to sampling and sites logged 10 years prior to sampling, and their corresponding undisturbed sites, suggests that vegetation recovery can occur relatively quickly. Rooted frequencies of plants establishing naturally in burned areas were similar to those in undisturbed areas, which suggests that post-fire erosion control seeding using agronomic species may not be necessary in these forests.

scholarly journals Rainfall in growing season determines the size of an annual-dominated soil seed bank in a desert ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Fei Shi ◽  
Zengru Wang ◽  
Bing-Xin Xu ◽  
Jian-Qiang Huo ◽  
Rui Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Desert Ecosystem ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Soil Seed Banks

Soil seed banks may offer great potential for restoring and maintaining desert ecosystems that have been degraded by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. However, few studies have explored the annual dynamics in the composition and relative abundance of these soil seed banks. We conducted a long-term observational study to assess the effects of environmental factors (meteorology and microtopography) and aboveground vegetation on the soil seed bank of the Tengger Desert, China. The desert seed bank was dominated by annual herbs. We found that more rainfall in the growing season increased the number of seeds in the soil seed bank, and that quadrats at relatively higher elevations had fewer seeds. The species composition had more similarity in the seed bank than in the aboveground vegetation, though the seed bank and aboveground vegetation did change synchronously due to the rapid propagation of annuals. Together, our findings suggest that the combined effects of environmental factors and plant life forms determine the species composition and size of soil seed banks in deserts. Thus, if degraded desert ecosystems are left to regenerate naturally, the lack of shrub and perennial herb seeds could crucially limit their restoration. Human intervention and management may have to be applied to enhance the seed abundance of longer-lived lifeforms in degraded deserts.

Spatial structure and species composition of soil seed banks in moving sand dune systems of northeast China

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunping Miao ◽  
Xuehua Li ◽  
Meiyu Jia ◽  
Xu Han ◽  
Deming Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Sand Dune ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Dune Systems

Species Composition of Soil Seed Banks of Allegheny Plateau Riparian Forests

1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa J. Hanlon ◽  
Charles E. Williams ◽  
William J. Moriarity
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Allegheny Plateau

scholarly journals Species composition of soil seed banks in the Quercus serrata forest after stockpiling for 6 years

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-298
Author(s):  
Makiko OONUKI ◽  
Yasuo IIZUKA ◽  
Masako KUBO ◽  
Daisuke HOSOGI ◽  
Masahiko MATSUE
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Quercus Serrata ◽  
Soil Seed Banks

Short-term effects of prescribed burning on radial growth of Douglas-fir trees in south central British Columbia

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 876
Author(s):  
M. C. Feller ◽  
W. Klenner
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
South Central

Radial increment of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) trees in uncut and partially cut and grazed and ungrazed dry cool Interior Douglas-fir forests near Isobel Lake in southern central British Columbia was measured for 2-year periods before and after prescribed burning in burned and unburned (control) areas. Parameters thought to influence the effects of prescribed burning on tree growth – characteristics of the tree and its immediate environment, adjacent surface and ladder fuels, and fire effects – were also measured. Burning caused a decrease in tree radial growth. The proportional change in radial tree growth was not related to degree of cutting or the presence of cattle grazing, but was negatively correlated with preburn radial growth, tree size, and also with some fire effect variables, particularly char height, suggesting that an increasing proportional decline in radial growth was associated with increasing tree size and with increasing fire severity. Soil nutrient (N, S, P, K, Mg or Ca) level was not a significant determinant of tree growth. The best prediction model could only explain 23% of the variation in the change in radial growth. Our results show that the effects of fire on Douglas-fir radial growth are complex and difficult to predict with the variables measured.

scholarly journals Characterization of western spruce budworm outbreak regions in the British Columbia Interior

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 783-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine E. Maclauchlan ◽  
Lori D. Daniels ◽  
Janice C. Hodge ◽  
Julie E. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Growth Suppression ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Western Spruce Budworm ◽  
The North ◽  
South Central ◽  
Ecosystem Classification

The western spruce budworm (WSB; Choristoneura freemani Razowski) shapes Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forests throughout western North America with periodic, severe landscape-level defoliation events. The largest and most continuous recorded defoliation occurred in the 2000s, largely centered in the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House WSB outbreak regions, peaking in 2007 at 847 000 ha defoliated in British Columbia (B.C.). Unique WSB outbreak regions in south-central B.C. are described using biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification, geography, 106 years of documented defoliation, and 46 stand-level Douglas-fir host tree-ring chronologies. Since the 1980s, recorded defoliation in B.C. has shifted from coastal ecosystems and become a dominant disturbance in drier, colder, interior Douglas-fir ecosystems. Defoliation records demarcate four outbreaks from 1950–2012 and up to three growth suppression events from 1937–2012. Outbreak duration was shorter in the north and far south of B.C., with recovery periods (no trees showing growth suppression) shorter over all WSB outbreak regions in the 2000s, suggesting that trees may be increasingly susceptible to each successive defoliation event. Knowing the regional outbreak periodicity may facilitate early detection of incipient WSB populations, which is critical for management as many of our low-elevation Douglas-fir forests become more stressed with changing and unpredictable climate regimes.

Timing of seed dispersal and dormancy, rather than persistent soil seed-banks, control seedling recruitment of woody plants in Neotropical savannas

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Salazar ◽  
Guillermo Goldstein ◽  
Augusto C. Franco ◽  
Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Seedling Bank

AbstractA large fraction of tree species forming persistent soil seed-banks and with dormant seeds are expected to be found in strongly seasonal ecosystems such as Neotropical savannas, where seedling recruitment could be highly variable. In the savannas of Central Brazil, we studied seed characteristics (type of dormancy, longevity and moisture content) of 14 representative woody species differing in seed dispersal season. We also studied the dynamics of soil seed-banks and similarity patterns in woody species composition among seed rain, soil seed-bank, seedling bank and standing vegetation along shallow topographic gradients that differ in canopy cover. Woody species composition of the soil seed-bank largely differed from the standing vegetation, the seed rain and the seedling bank species composition, suggesting low recruitment of woody species from the soil seed-bank. Seeds of the 14 woody species remained viable for less than 16 months in laboratory dry-storage conditions. Of those, most seeds dispersed in the dry season were dormant and exhibited low moisture content, while most seeds dispersed in the wet season were non-dormant and exhibited high moisture content. Longevity of these seeds dispersed in the dry and the wet seasons did not differ significantly. This study shows that both timing of seed dispersal and dormancy appear to control timing of seed germination and seedling recruitment of most Neotropical savanna woody species, which did not form persistent soil seed-banks. This study contributes to the understanding of tree/grass coexistence and tree density variations along topographic gradients in tropical savannas.

scholarly journals Soil Seed Banks of Tree Species from Natural Forests, Restoration Sites, and Abandoned Areas in Chiang Mai, Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Patsavipich Rungrojtrakool ◽  
Pimonrat Tiansawat ◽  
Arunothai Jampeetong ◽  
Dia Panitnard Shannon ◽  
Sutthathorn Chairuangsri
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Seed Density ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Chiang Mai ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Standing Vegetation

Soil seed banks have been used for investigation of natural regeneration of forests. In this study, we compared seed density and species composition of soil seed banks of trees among natural forests, restored forests of different ages, and abandoned agricultural land. The soil seed banks were collected from a natural forest (NF), 12-year-old and 17-year-old restoration sites (RF12y and RF17y), and 17-year-old abandoned site (AA) at Ban Mae Sa Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand. A seedling emergence technique was used to assess seed density and species of emerged seedlings was identified. We found 5-8 tree species at each site. Seed densities in the study areas ranged from 43 to 298 seeds/m2. The seed density of RF12y was significantly higher than that of both NF and AA but not significantly different than RF17y (p < 0.01). Although there was no significant relationship between the restoration ages and the seed densities of the soil seed banks, the species composition of standing vegetation was related to the seed bank species. Sorensen’s similarities between the species composition of the soil seed banks and the existing trees in each area were between 0 and 13.79%, suggesting seed dispersal of both within and across study sites. Eight out of fourteen species in the soil seed banks were dispersed into restoration sites without standing vegetation of those species. Seven of those were animal-dispersed species. The selected native trees, framework species, attracted small seed dispersers into the study areas, especially at the restoration sites. This finding suggests that active forest restoration improved natural regeneration in restoration sites as well as neighboring areas via seed dispersal.

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