Deforestation strongly affects soil seed banks in eucalypt forests: Generalisations in functional traits and implications for restoration

Meers, Trevor L.; Enright, Neal J.; Bell, Tina L.; Kasel, Sabine

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.11.004

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Unlike perennial species, annuals rely on persistent seed banks (Parker et al, ). Similar to other reports on plantations of exotics (Moles & Drake, ; Meers et al, ), we found a seed bank principally composed of exotic annual herbs in all the studied sectors. We did not determine the steppe state and transition (sensu Westoby, Walker, & Noy‐Meir, ) of the studied sites, but the fact that the steppe sector was also dominated by exotic annual herbs was probably due to many years of overgrazing (Defossé & Robberecht, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Conifer plantations generally affect above‐ground vegetation and also soil seed banks (Bisteau & Mahy, ; Maccherini & Dominicis, ), which decrease in size as plantations grow older (Galloway, Holmes, Gaertner, & Esler, ; Pywell et al, ). Usually, the soil seed bank within plantations is mostly composed of annual herbs, often exotics (Meers, Enright, Bell, & Kasel, ; Moles & Drake, ), and only a few natives (Augusto, Dupouey, Picard, & Ranger, ; Pywell et al, ). This implies that, although some species can recover from the soil seed bank, other mechanisms are required for their recovery (Meers et al, ; Onaindia & Amezaga, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategies to persist in the community: Soil seed bank and above‐ground vegetation in Patagonian pine plantations

Rago

Urretavizcaya

Orellana

et al. 2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions In terms of biodiversity conservation, forest plantations are often considered problematic because they usually have negative effects on natural ecosystems. Soil seed banks could play an important role in restoring vegetation that was originally present, by recruiting species that have disappeared above‐ground. We addressed this topic in plantations located in the Patagonian steppe by asking the following questions: Are richness, abundance and composition of steppe above‐ground vegetation and soil seed bank affected by plantations? Is species composition of the above‐ground vegetation and soil seed bank similar in plantations and in the steppe? Location NW of Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Methods We selected three plantations located in the steppe, and delimited three sectors: steppe, plantation edge and plantation interior. We compared richness and abundance by species origin and growth form among sectors for the above‐ground vegetation and soil seed bank compartments, using generalized linear mixed models. We compared species composition for each compartment and between them using permutational multivariate analysis of variance and non‐metric multidimensional scaling. Results In above‐ground vegetation, we found a decrease in richness and abundance, and changes in composition from the steppe to the plantation interior. Richness and abundance of the soil seed bank did not show differences among steppe and the plantation sectors, although composition was different among them. Above‐ground vegetation and soil seed bank species composition were always different; native perennial herbs and shrubs were predominant in the above‐ground vegetation while exotic annual herbs dominated the soil seed bank. Conclusions Our findings suggest that plant recruitment from the soil seed bank would not be sufficient for restoring depleted species pools in the above‐ground vegetation of plantations. Therefore, actions promoting native species reestablishment and control of exotics should be considered to reach the aim of restoring biodiversity in former plantations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies to persist in the community: Soil seed bank and above‐ground vegetation in Patagonian pine plantations

Rago

Urretavizcaya

Orellana

et al. 2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Eucalyptus might be expected to spread easily in Australia, but this does not seem to be the case. Meers et al [37] report that Eucalyptus seedlings were absent from 35-year-old Pinus radiata plantations adjacent to native Eucalyptus forest and that Eucalyptus seeds that could germinate were virtually absent from soil seed banks (see also [38,39]). Meers et al [37] also report that over a 45 year span, abandoned farmland in Western Australia has been poorly colonized by Eucalypts.…”

Section: Invasivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meers et al [37] report that Eucalyptus seedlings were absent from 35-year-old Pinus radiata plantations adjacent to native Eucalyptus forest and that Eucalyptus seeds that could germinate were virtually absent from soil seed banks (see also [38,39]). Meers et al [37] also report that over a 45 year span, abandoned farmland in Western Australia has been poorly colonized by Eucalypts. This inability to colonize even in Australia could be due to lack of mycorrhizal symbionts on abandoned farmland and in pine plantations, combined with poor seed dispersal [30,36,37,40].…”

Section: Invasivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scientific Basis for Sustainable Management of Eucalyptus and Populus as Short-Rotation Woody Crops in the U.S.

Vance

Loehle

Wigley

et al. 2014

Forests

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Short rotation woody crops (SRWC), fast growing tree species that are harvested on short, repeated intervals, can augment traditional fiber sources. These crops have economic and environmental benefits stemming from their capability of supplying fiber on a reduced land base in close proximity to users and when sensitive sites cannot be accessed. Eucalyptus and Populus appear to be genera with the greatest potential to provide supplemental fiber in the U.S. Optimal productivity can be achieved through practices that overcome site limitations and by choosing the most appropriate sites, species, and clones. Some Eucalyptus species are potentially invasive, yet field studies across multiple continents suggest they are slower to disperse than predicted by risk assessments. Some studies have found lower plant and animal diversity in SRWC systems compared to mature, native forests, but greater than some alterative land uses and strongly influenced by stand management, land use history, and landscape context. Eucalyptus established in place of grasslands, arable lands, and, in some cases, native forests can reduce streamflow and lower water tables due to higher interception and transpiration rates but results vary widely, are scale dependent, and are most evident in drier regions. OPEN ACCESS

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Seed bank bias: Differential tracking of functional traits in the seed bank and vegetation across a gradient

Larson

Suding

2022

Ecology

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A goal in trait‐based ecology is to understand and predict plant community responses to environmental change; however, diversity stored within seed banks that may expand or limit these responses is typically overlooked. If seed banks store attributes that are more advantageous or vulnerable under future conditions, they could impact community adaptability to change and disturbance. We explored compositional differences between seed banks and vegetation (i.e., seed bank bias) across a 12‐site gradient of increasingly higher and older soil terraces, asking: How do seed banks contribute to taxonomic and functional composition, and what do shifts in seed bank biases along the gradient (i.e., tracking) reveal about the processes driving seed bank variation and its implications for community adaptability? Across the gradient, seed banks stored distinct pools of species that added to species richness but not functional dispersion. Seed banks were generally biased toward short‐life histories and “fast” species with small seeds, thinner and more acquisitive roots, and lower root biomass allocation; however, trait means in the seed bank and vegetation sometimes shifted along the gradient, amplifying or reversing these biases. For example, species with higher specific leaf area (tied to rapid resource acquisition) tended to dominate vegetation on lower soil terraces, but were more common in the seed bank on higher terraces—at least when patterns were weighted by species' relative abundances. Although seed banks were generally characterized by “fast” attributes, observed shifts in seed bank biases across the gradient—particularly in leaf traits—demonstrate that environment can impact stored diversity and, consequently, our expectations for future vegetative turnover. The seed bank bias patterns that we characterized could be the result of many potential processes, including environment‐ or trait‐driven variation in seed bank inputs (seed production, dispersal) or losses (seed desiccation, germination), and may have important implications for a system's adaptive capacity. Only by integrating seed banks into the functional ecology agenda will we be able to unpack these processes and use seed banks more effectively in both prediction and ecosystem management.

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Deforestation strongly affects soil seed banks in eucalypt forests: Generalisations in functional traits and implications for restoration

Cited by 24 publications

References 110 publications

Strategies to persist in the community: Soil seed bank and above‐ground vegetation in Patagonian pine plantations

Strategies to persist in the community: Soil seed bank and above‐ground vegetation in Patagonian pine plantations

Scientific Basis for Sustainable Management of Eucalyptus and Populus as Short-Rotation Woody Crops in the U.S.

Seed bank bias: Differential tracking of functional traits in the seed bank and vegetation across a gradient

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