scholarly journals Soil Seed Bank Dynamics of a Riparian Forest and its Adjacent Upland Vegetation

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-124
Author(s):  
Omowumi Omotoyosi OLALOYE ◽  
Samson Olajide OKE

The present study was conducted to determine the densities and soil seed bank composition of a riparian forest and its adjacent upland vegetation for a better understanding the potentials of the soil seed banks in facilitating succession towards a more natural forest of native tree species. Three contiguous 20 m x 20 m plots were systematically established on both riparian forest and upland vegetation. Species enumeration, identification and distribution into families of the standing vegetation were carried out. Furthermore, five replicates soil samples were collected at two different depths (0-15 cm, 15-30 .The seedling emergence test was carried out for six months in the greenhouse to determine the species composition and the density of the seed in both vegetation types. The results of the seedling emergence revealed that more seeds were deposited at the upper depth (0-15 cm) than the lower depth 15-30 cm in the two vegetation types in both dry and rainy season. There was low similarity in species composition between the standing vegetation and soil seed bank in each of the two vegetation types. Herbaceous species recorded the highest number of seedlings as compared to the other habit. The low similarity between seed bank and standing vegetation of the riparian forest and the adjacent upland vegetation suggested that soil seed bank was insignificant in their restoration. 

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Soltani ◽  
A. Soltani ◽  
S. Galeshi ◽  
F. Ghaderi-Far ◽  
E. Zeinali

Studies were conducted to estimate parameters and relationships associated with sub-processes in soil seed banks of oilseed rape in Gorgan, Iran. After one month of burial, seed viability decreased to 39%, with a slope of 2.03% per day, and subsequently decreased with a lower slope of 0.01 until 365 days following burial in the soil. Germinability remained at its highest value in autumn and winter and decreased from spring to the last month of summer. Non-dormant seeds of volunteer oilseed rape did not germinate at temperatures lower than 3.8 ºC and a water potential of -1.4 MPa ºd. The hydrothermal values were 36.2 and 42.9 MPa ºd for sub- and supra-optimal temperatures, respectively. Quantification of seed emergence as influenced by burial depth was performed satisfactorily (R² = 0.98 and RMSE = 5.03). The parameters and relationships estimated here can be used for modelling soil seed bank dynamics or establishing a new model for the environment.


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.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1391
Author(s):  
Anussara Chalermsri ◽  
La-aw Ampornpan ◽  
Witoon Purahong

Human activity negatively affects the sustainability of forest ecosystems globally. Disturbed forests may or may not recover by themselves in a certain period of time. However, it is still unclear as to what parameters can be used to reasonably predict the potential for self-recovery of human-disturbed forests. Here, we combined seed rain, soil seed bank, and seed emergence experiments to evaluate the potential for self-recovery of a highly disturbed, tropical, mixed deciduous forest in northeastern Thailand. Our results show a limited potential for self-recovery of this forest due to low seedling input and storage and an extremely high mortality rate during the drought period. There were 15 tree species of seedlings present during the regeneration period in comparison with a total number of 56 tree species in current standing vegetation. During the dry season, only four tree seedling species survived, and the highest mortality rate reached 83.87%. We also found that the correspondence between the combined number of species and composition of plant communities obtained from seed rain, soil seed bank, and seedling emergence experiments and the standing vegetation was poor. We clearly show the temporal dynamics of the seed rain and seedling communities, which are driven by different plant reproductive phenology and dispersal mechanisms, and drought coupled with mortality. We conclude that this highly disturbed forest needs a management plan and could not recover by itself in a short period of time. We recommend the use of external seed and seedling supplies and the maintenance of soil water content (i.e., shading) during periods of drought in order to help increase seedling abundances and species richness, and to reduce the mortality rate.


1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JW Morgan

The seasonal dynamics of the soil seed bank of Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides F.Muell. were studied by the seedling emergence technique. Seed longevity in soil was quantified in a seed burial and retrieval experiment. The importance of annual seed production to recruitment was also determined over a 2-year-period, as was the impact of conspecific neighbour density on seed production per inflorescence. Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides appears to form a transient seed bank with little capacity to store germinable seeds in the soil from year to year. No seedlings were observed in soil sampled after the autumn germination pulse and no viable seed was present in the soil within 16 weeks of burial. The rate of seed loss was similar when seed was buried under all intact grassland canopy and in 0.25m2 canopy gaps. It appears that most seeds simply rot in moist soil or are predated by soil invertebrates. Seedling recruitment was at least 15 times greater in plots where natural seed input occurred than where it was curtailed. Less than 10% of seed shed resulted in seedling emergence. It is suggested that recruitment in the large populations studied was limited by germination rather than by microsite availability for seedling survival. Population density had an impact on seed production with sparsely distributed individuals producing fewer seeds per inflorescence than plants from denser colonies, although there was much variation. Sparse plants produced significantly fewer seeds per inflorescence than hand crosspollinated heads suggesting reduced pollinator efficacy in these colonies relative to larger colonies where there was no such difference. Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides is dependent on the maintenance of the standing population for recruitment. Any factors that influence flowering and subsequent seed production will limit the ability of the species to regenerate. Over sufficient time, this could lead to the localised extinction of the species and may explain why R. leptorrhynchoides has failed to reappear in remnants where a suitable fire regime has been re-implemented after a period of management unfavourable to the survival, flowering and regeneration of this species.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pirjo Peltonen-Sainio ◽  
Katri Pahkala ◽  
Hannu Mikkola ◽  
Lauri Jauhiainen

Rapeseed soil seed bank development and volunteer plant establishment represent substantial risk for crop infestation and GM contamination. This study was designed to complement such investigations with novel understanding from high latitude conditions. Four experiments were designed to characterise seed loss at harvest, persistence, viability and capacity for volunteer seedling establishment, as well as impact of management measures on soil seed bank dynamics. Oilseed rape was the primary crop investigated due to the availability of GM cultivars and because of the increasing importance. Harvest losses and soil seed bank development were significant. Volunteer seedlings emerged at reasonably high rates, especially in the first autumn after harvest, but about 10% of buried seeds maintained their viability for at least three years. Soil incorporation methods had no major effect on numbers of volunteer seedlings, but herbicide treatments controlled volunteer seedlings efficiently, though not completely, due to irregular timing of seedling emergence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Winda Utami Putri ◽  
Ibnul Qayim ◽  
Abdul Qadir

Abstract. Putri WU, Qayim I, Qadir A. 2021. Invasive species in the soil seed bank of two limestone hills in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4019-4027. Study on the impact of invasive species on plant communities has been conducted mainly on the aboveground vegetation. The impact on the soil seed bank has received less attention mostly due to practical difficulties in conducting seed bank assessment. Evaluation of seed bank composition is useful in detecting invasive plant species that may have been present as buried seeds. Information on the vegetation composition in Nyungcung and Kapur hills both under and aboveground is available, but specific information on invasive species has not been discussed yet. This paper describes and analyzes the structure (composition and density) of invasive species in the soil seed bank. Eighty soil samples were taken from the study sites. The soil seed banks were analyzed using seedling emergence and seed extraction methods. 2602 and 1280 seedlings emerged from soil seed bank of Nyungcung and Kapur hills, respectively. From that number, approximately 48.96% and 68.51% of the seedlings are invasive species in the soil seed bank of Nyungcung and Kapur hills. The invasive species were dominants in the soil seed bank of the two sites. Cecropia peltata and Clidemia hirta were the most abundant invasive species in the Kapur and Nyungcung hills seed bank, respectively. Species richness and seedling density were higher in Nyungcung hills than Kapur hills, which were invaded for a relatively longer period.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-138
Author(s):  
Hafiz Muhammad Zia Ullah Ghazali ◽  
Abdul Hamid ◽  
Muhammad Arshad ◽  
Mansoor Hameed ◽  
Malik Muhammad Yousaf ◽  
...  

Soil seed banks were assessed in three soil layers (L1, from 0 to 2 cm, L2, 2 to 4 cm and L3,4 to 6 cm depth ) from five microhabitats i.e., Lee-ward side of sand dune (S1), Wind-ward side of sanddune (S2), Clayey area covered with sand (S3), Interdunal sandy area (S4) and Shifting sand dune of siteDingarh Fort area (S5) in Cholistan desert of Pakistan to analyse differences of soil seed bank among thesehabitats. Ten soil samples were collected from each microhabitat and from each layer i.e., 0-2 cm depth(L1), 2-4 cm depth (L2) and 4-6 cm depth (L3) by using 15´15´6 cm metallic sampler. Consistentdifferences in seed composition were observed among these microhabitats. Seedling emergence approachwas used to assess the soil seed bank of Cholistan desert. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) wasused for the soil seed bank and the plant species analysis. The microhabitats S3 (Clayey area covered withsand) and S4 (Interdunal sandy area) contributed prominently to the total variance in the species and hadmaximum density of seed bank and soil layer L1 contained maximum number of seeds.


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.


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