The establishment of plants in an ecosystem is limited by the availability of seeds and the availability of suitable sites for establishment. Describing plant population dynamics by the relative strength of seed and establishment limitation is an important concept in the study of natural ecosystems. To date it is unclear if this concept is eligible to describe populations of annual weeds in agricultural fields. We show that by utilizing a recruitment function, limitation parameters proved valuable to describe seedling recruitment in weed populations. We conducted a seed addition experiment in three cornfields (Zea mays L.) and recorded seedlings recruitment in populations of the economically important weed barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv.]. Seed predation, competition with other weeds and seed burial were prevented. We estimated the strength of seed and establishment limitation in the population with two parameters: n which is the number of microsites, and b which is the suitability of those sites to support a seedling. We further estimated the relative proportions of density-dependent and density-independent establishment limitation in the seedling population. Recruitment rates of E. crus-galli ranged from 31% to 36% across all evaluated seed densities and fields, which is high compared to results from other seed addition studies. Two of the three monitored populations were predominantly establishment limited at the highest evaluated seed density of 2,400 added seeds m−2. Further knowledge about the relative strength of limitations in other weed populations will provide important information on how effective different weed management strategies can be.
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