Seed banks are biodiversity reservoirs: species–area relationships above versus below ground

Vandvik, Vigdis; Klanderud, Kari; Meineri, Éric; Måren, Inger Elisabeth; Töpper, Joachim

doi:10.1111/oik.02022

Cited by 95 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…We expect our results to enhance our understanding of the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Seed banks represent biodiversity reservoirs for grasslands and other ecosystems on a global scale, 31 playing an important role in the maintenance of genetic and species diversity, 32,33 and in the reestablishment of species lost from the above-ground vegetation. 34 Moreover, they reduce the risk of extinction as a consequence of a single environmental event such as drought or flooding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…34 Moreover, they reduce the risk of extinction as a consequence of a single environmental event such as drought or flooding. 35 Therefore, seed banks are often thought to buffer the responses of plant communities to climate variation, 36 providing potential resilience to disturbance or environmental shifts, 31 and to decrease extinction vulnerability under climate change. 37 It is therefore crucial to discover whether these assumptions are correct for calcareous grassland communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

et al. 2018

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Climate change models project shifts in precipitation patterns at regional and global scales. Increases in dry areas and the occurrence of drought predicted in future scenarios are likely to threaten grassland ecosystems. Calcareous grassland seed banks have proven to be resistant to short-term drought, but their responses to long-term drought are unknown. Here we show that 14 years of summer drought changed calcareous grassland seed bank composition, reducing its size and richness, and that these responses do not simply reflect patterns in the above-ground vegetation. Moreover, the effect of drought was larger on seed banks than on vegetation, and above-ground responses mediated by soil depth were less evident in the seed bank than in the vegetation. These results demonstrate that the severity of drought effects on calcareous grasslands is larger than previously thought, and show that this ecosystem is highly vulnerable and has low resilience to predicted decreases in soil moisture.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

et al. 2018

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“…Seed banks form a below‐ground plant diversity reservoir, often holding more diversity than extant plant communities (Plue & Cousins ; Vandvik et al. ). The compositional vegetation–seed bank dissimilarity also signals that a sizeable share of seed bank diversity is absent above‐ground (Thompson & Grime ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where does the community start, and where does it end? Including the seed bank to reassess forest herb layer responses to the environment

Plue

Frenne

Acharya

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

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Question Below‐ground processes are key determinants of above‐ground plant population and community dynamics. Still, our understanding of how environmental drivers shape plant communities is mostly based on above‐ground diversity patterns, bypassing below‐ground plant diversity stored in seed banks. As seed banks may shape above‐ground plant communities, we question whether concurrently analysing the above‐ and below‐ground species assemblages may potentially enhance our understanding of community responses to environmental variation. Location Temperate deciduous forests along a 2000 km latitudinal gradient in NW Europe. Methods Herb layer, seed bank and local environmental data including soil pH, canopy cover, forest cover continuity and time since last canopy disturbance were collected in 129 temperate deciduous forest plots. We quantified herb layer and seed bank diversity per plot and evaluated how environmental variation structured community diversity in the herb layer, seed bank and the combined herb layer–seed bank community. Results Seed banks consistently held more plant species than the herb layer. How local plot diversity was partitioned across the herb layer and seed bank was mediated by environmental variation in drivers serving as proxies of light availability. The herb layer and seed bank contained an ever smaller and ever larger share of local diversity, respectively, as both canopy cover and time since last canopy disturbance decreased. Species richness and β‐diversity of the combined herb layer–seed bank community responded distinctly differently compared to the separate assemblages in response to environmental variation in, e.g. forest cover continuity and canopy cover. Conclusions The seed bank is a below‐ground diversity reservoir of the herbaceous forest community, which interacts with the herb layer, although constrained by environmental variation in e.g. light availability. The herb layer and seed bank co‐exist as a single community by means of the so‐called storage effect, resulting in distinct responses to environmental variation not necessarily recorded in the individual herb layer or seed bank assemblages. Thus, concurrently analysing above‐ and below‐ground diversity will improve our ecological understanding of how understorey plant communities respond to environmental variation.

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“…Among In this region, the phytosociological survey of the shrubby herbaceous stratum performed by Barros (2014) showed a Shannon diversity index (H ') of 3.10, while in the present study, the highest value for the Shannon diversity index of the seeds was 2.68. This lower diversity is due to the smaller extension of the sampling area for the study of the composition of seed banks (VANDVIK et al, 2016). Although it is not possible to make the selection or predict the diversity of species that will make up the seed bank (NORMAN et al, 2006), it is important to consider environmental factors that may affect the emergence of seedlings, such as seed dormancy mechanisms and species phenology.…”

Section: Evaluations Of the Emergence Of Seedlings From Stockpiled Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Topsoil Stockpiling on the Viability of Seed Bank in Field Phytophysiognomies Campos De Altitude

Moraes

Carvalho

Pereira

et al. 2017

CERNE

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ABSTRACT:The viability of propagules during topsoil stockpiling is a limiting factor in ecological restoration projects and little is known about the species distributed in the campos de altitude. This work was carried out to investigate the viability of propagules present in the topsoil under campos de altitude vegetation, stockpiled for up to 12 months after the stripping of areas to be mined. In the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between November 2011 and November 2012, four collections of the seed bank were carried out, considering three depths (0 to 10, 90 to 100, and 190 to 200 cm) of the plot of stockpiled topsoil. Using the multivariate analysis, it was verified that the depth factor does not statistically affect the abundance of emerged individuals, while the factor time of stockpiling negatively affects the viability of the seeds. Some species were affected by the stockpiling conditions, only emerging in some collections, while others (Achyrocline satureioides, Ageratum fastigiatum, Baccharis dracunculifolia, Borreria capitata, Echinolaena inflexa and Melinis minutiflora) had individuals emerged in all collection periods. This study points out the need for the return of the topsoil until the fourth month of stocking, under the risk of monodominance, with a prevalence of species more adapted to predominant conditions of campos de altitude. EFEITO DA ESTOCAGEM DE TOPSOIL NA VIABILIDADE DO BANCO DE SEMENTES EM FITOFISIONOMIAS DE CAMPOS DE ALTITUDE RESUMO:A viabilidade dos propágulos durante a estocagem de topsoil é um fator limitante em projetos de restauração ecológica, e pouco se sabe sobre as espécies distribuídas nos campos de altitude. Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de investigar a viabilidade de propágulos presente no topsoil sob vegetação de campos de altitude, estocado por até 12 meses após o decapeamento de áreas a serem mineradas. Entre o período de novembro de 2011 a novembro de 2012 foram realizadas quatro coletas do banco de sementes, sendo consideradas três profundidades (0 a 10, 90 a 100 e 190 a 200 cm) da leira de topsoil estocada. Utilizando a análise multivariada, verificou-se que o fator profundidade não afeta estatisticamente a abundância de indivíduos emergidos, enquanto o fator tempo de estocagem afeta negativamente a viabilidade das sementes. Algumas espécies foram afetadas pelas condições de estoque do topsoil, emergindo somente em algumas coletas, enquanto outras (Achyrocline satureioides, Ageratum fastigiatum, Baccharis dracunculifolia, Borreria capitata, Echinolaena inflexa e Melinis minutiflora) tiveram indivíduos emergidos em todos os períodos de coleta. Este estudo aponta a necessidade do retorno do topsoil até o quarto mês de armazenamento, sob o risco de ocorrer monodominância, com predominância de espécies mais adaptadas as condições campestres.

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Seed banks are biodiversity reservoirs: species–area relationships above versus below ground

Cited by 95 publications

References 86 publications

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

Severe effects of long-term drought on calcareous grassland seed banks

Where does the community start, and where does it end? Including the seed bank to reassess forest herb layer responses to the environment

Effect of Topsoil Stockpiling on the Viability of Seed Bank in Field Phytophysiognomies Campos De Altitude

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