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
Author(s):  
Ya-Fei Shi ◽  
Zengru Wang ◽  
Bing-Xin Xu ◽  
Jian-Qiang Huo ◽  
Rui Hu ◽  
...  

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunping Miao ◽  
Xuehua Li ◽  
Meiyu Jia ◽  
Xu Han ◽  
Deming Jiang

1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa J. Hanlon ◽  
Charles E. Williams ◽  
William J. Moriarity

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Salazar ◽  
Guillermo Goldstein ◽  
Augusto C. Franco ◽  
Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Patsavipich Rungrojtrakool ◽  
Pimonrat Tiansawat ◽  
Arunothai Jampeetong ◽  
Dia Panitnard Shannon ◽  
Sutthathorn Chairuangsri

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.


Author(s):  
Josephine Esaete ◽  
Augustine Bongo ◽  
Thomas Lado ◽  
Tomor Bojoi ◽  
Henry Busulwa

Soil seed banks are important for regeneration of degraded wetlands ecosystems. The Sudd wetlands of Juba city have long been encroached for crop cultivation. Seedling germination was monitored in a greenhouse to establish possible natural regeneration in Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton wetlands in the Sudd. Sixty-four species germinated from the soil seed bank of which 12.5% were dominated by Cyperus difformis and Typha capensis. The findings showed that median wetland species richness in Mindiari was 1.5 (interquartile range = 0.75?3.5), Rejaf 2.5 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 4.0), Roton 3 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 5.0) while median Shannon-Wiener diversity was 1.5 (1.14 ?1.73), 1.43 (1.01?1.66), 1.15 (0.98?1.67) for Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton respectively. Both the median seed species richness and diversity were not significantly different among the study wetlands. The median of seed density (56.1) was significantly higher in Roton than in Mindiari (36.7) and Rejaf (29.4) wetlands. The NMDS results showed that species composition of Mindiari and Rejaf was different from Roton. It is concluded that growing crops in wetlands did not influence species richness and diversity but it reduced seed density and altered species composition. Although wetland species were not significantly different in the three-wetland categories, dominance of canopy species belonging to Typhaceae and Cyperaceae indicates that these species are resilient to cultivation and could facilitate natural regeneration of cultivated wetlands edges of the Sudd region in Juba. Further research should examine effect of cultivation duration and flooding regimes on soil seed bank species richness, diversity, and density and composition.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Fei Shi ◽  
Zeng-Ru Wang ◽  
Bing-Xin Xu ◽  
Jian-Qiang Huo ◽  
Rui Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Soil seed banks may offer great potential for maintaining and restoring desert ecosystems that have been degraded by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. However, few studies have explored the year-to-year dynamics in the species composition (richness and abundance) of these desert soil seed banks. Thus, we conducted a 4-year study to assess the effects of environmental factors (meteorology and microtopography) and aboveground vegetation on the soil seed bank of the Tengger Desert, China. Results We found the seed bank was dominated by annual herb species both in species richness and abundance. More rainfall in the growing season increased the number of seeds in the soil seed bank, and quadrat micro-elevation had a negative effect on soil seed bank size. The species composition in the seed bank had significantly larger between-year similarity than that in the aboveground vegetation due to the dominance of annual herb species. For different life forms, the species composition of annual herbs showed distinctly larger temporal similarity between the aboveground vegetation and the seed bank compared with perennial herbs and shrubs. Conclusions Our findings highlight that the combined effects of environmental factors and plant life forms determine the species composition (especially the abundance) of soil seed banks in deserts. However, 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 perennial lifeforms in degraded deserts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Indriani Ekasari ◽  
Ronggo Sadono ◽  
Djoko Marsono ◽  
Joko Ridho Witono

Abstract. Ekasari I, Sadono R, Marsono D, Witono JR. 2021. Species composition and richness of viable seed bank after fire events in Mount Ciremai National Park and Kuningan Botanic Gardens, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3437-3447. Forest fire is an environmental disaster that can decline ecosystem function and restoration efforts must be considered to restore forest ecosystems after fire events. Natural regeneration using existing soil seed banks is a promising approach in restoration due to its advantage in terms of minimizing cost. This study aimed to examine the species composition and richness of germinable seed banks in several post-fire sites in Mount Ciremai National Park (MNCP) and Kuningan Botanic Gardens (KGB), West Java, Indonesia. One hundred fifty-eight soil samples were collected from the study sites representing fire events (i.e., four post-fire sites and one non-fire site), and soil depths (i.e., upper, middle, and lower). The collection of soil samples and identification of seedlings emergence were conducted from September 2019 to February 2020. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and correspondence analysis using SPSS Version 22. In total, 4626 emergence seedlings were recorded, belonging to 158 species and 58 families in which 41 families in the upper soil layer, 35 families in the middle soil layer, and 33 families in the lower soil layer. The results showed that Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Euphorbiaceae as the most dominant families. The upper soil layer of post-fire site 2018 had the highest species richness (R=11.98), while the lower soil layer of post-fire site 2012 had the lowest species richness (R=2.64). Our findings suggest that when carrying out restoration activities in post-fire areas, it is preferable to use native species that do not compete with species persisted in soil seed banks.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 1548-1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaeli E. Stark ◽  
André Arsenault ◽  
Gary E. Bradfield

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.


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