Floristic composition of established vegetation and the soil seed bank in pasture communities under different traditional management regimes

Abstract

The floristic composition of the established vegetation and the soil seed bank in seven herbaceous communities under different traditional management regimes were compared in the Valdeón valley (Picos de Europa, Spain), a valley chosen for study because of its high diversity and non-dominance of any single species which have become increasingly rare in Western Europe as a result of changes in agriculture practices. Although the biological richness in this valley is well know, few studies have been made of the effects of different traditional management regimes on the floristic soil seed bank composition of these grasslands. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of traditional management regimes on the floristic composition of the established vegetation and soil seed bank determining which species groups are most represented in each case to increase scientific information about these communities that every day are more scarce in Western Europe because of intensive management (generally due to fertiliser application to increase production) and abandonment of the traditional methods of management with a profound modification of the agrarian structure. An indirect germination method was used to study the seed bank. Soil samples were put into a germination chamber. 119 species of the vegetation and 104 of the seed bank were identified, 54 species being common to both. Results were analysed using Correspondence Analysis (CA), samples and species on the above-ground flora being ordered in the first two axes in well-defined groups: limestone and siliceous pastures, formerly-cultivated land and hay meadow. In the case of the below-ground seed bank, the manure used as fertiliser in some communities affected principally the concentration of therophytes in the soil and defined the different groups. Sampling time, management and differences between the persistence of seeds of different species in the soil seed bank were responsible for the large differences between the composition of the vegetation and seed bank. Ruderal species, species with persistent seeds and therophytes, which were better represented in the seed bank were responsible for the low correlation between seed bank and vegetation established.

Lolium multiflorum seeds in the soil: I. Soil seed bank dynamics in a no til system

“…Here we use the scheme proposed by Thompson et al (1997). In this case, L. multiflorum was classified as having a transitory (viable in the soil for less than one year) to short-term persistent (viable for one to five years) type of seed bank, what agrees with results obtained in other countries (Douglas, 1965;Howe and Chancellor, 1983;López-Mariño et al, 2000).…”

“…According to some authors, several cultivated grasses, including Lolium spp., do not have persistent soil seed banks (Douglas, 1965;Thompson and Grime, 1979;Howe and Chancellor, 1983;López-Mariño, 2000), indicating that resowing, observed in improved grasslands, is basically from seeds deposited in the soil in the previous season.…”

Responses of Soil Seed Bank and Vegetation to the Increasing Intensity of Human Disturbance in a Semi-Arid Region of Northern China

“…Olano et al [44] considered that the soil seed bank was primarily supplied by the dispersal of seeds from the aboveground vegetation, and in turn it was the seedling resources of the development and succession of aboveground vegetation. Thus, the soil seed bank and vegetation were originally closely correlated with each other [45]. The fate of the vegetation determined the fate of the soil seed bank.…”

Floristic composition and species richness of soil seed bank in three abandoned rice paddies along a seral gradient in Gwangneung Forest Biosphere Reserve, South Korea

“…The contribution of the seed bank to the regeneration process mainly depends on the management history and structural and compositional development of aboveground vegetation. The composition of the seed bank depends on the production and composition of present and previous vegetation, as well as on the longevity of the seeds under local conditions (López-Mariño et al 2000). Abandoned rice paddies offer an opportunity to restore wetland vegetation and reestablish traditional landscapes (Lee et al 2002), helping to maintain endangered wetland species found in the paddy fields that co-existed with rice cultivation (Fujioka et al 2001;Yamada et al 2007Yamada et al , 2013.…”