A review on the research methods of soil seed bank
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Abstract:
Soil seed bank includes all live seeds existed both in litter and in soil,which is simply classified into transient soil seed bank with seeds germinated within a year of initial dispersal,and persistent soil seed bank with seeds remained in soil more than one year.The soil seed bank,as the potential for regeneration,plays an important role in the natural restoration of vegetation.This paper reviewed its research methods,including sampling methods,sampling time and identification of seedling.It suggests that long-term anchor observation is adopted for the dynamics of soil seed bank and seedling specimen bank should be founded to identify seedling correctly.Keywords:
Soil seed bank
Litter
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Soil seed bank
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Seed germination and emergence are influenced by the position of seeds in the soil bank profile. Mediterranean grasslands are heavily dependent on seed banks, as these systems are mainly composed of annual species. Seed bank germination experiments in a greenhouse were conducted to analyse the role played by burial depth on seed bank dynamics in annual Mediterranean grasslands. Specifically, they addressed two objectives: (1) to assess the ability of seeds in the shallow layer of the soil bank to emerge when they are buried at different depths, and (2) to ascertain the ability of seeds from deep layers to germinate and emerge to the surface. The study also produced a depth profile of species and seeds. The results show that: (1) all species (100%) and the majority of viable seeds (98.9%) are situated in the first centimetre, with a significant fall in the number of species and seeds in the soil bank as depth increases; (2) for the majority of species (92%) and seeds (85.4%) in the shallow bank, the emergence percentage declines significantly with burial depth; and (3) seeds that are present in deep layers need to rise to the surface in order to produce seedlings. In conclusion, the function of the seed bank in Mediterranean grasslands depends on the number of species and seeds in it, but also on the seed position in the profile and vertical movements that enable them to reach the surface.
Soil seed bank
Soil horizon
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The longevity of seed in the soil is a key determinant of the cost and length of weed eradication programs. Soil seed bank information and ongoing research have input into the planning and reporting of two nationally cost shared weed eradication programs based in tropical north Queensland. These eradication programs are targeting serious weeds such as Chromoleana odorata, Mikania micrantha, Miconia calvescens, Clidemia hirta and Limnocharis flava. Various methods are available for estimating soil seed persistence. Field methods to estimate the total and germinable soil seed densities include seed packet burial trials, extracting seed from field soil samples, germinating seed in field soil samples and observations from native range seed bank studies. Interrogating field control records can also indicate the length of the control and monitoring periods needed to exhaust the seed bank. Recently, laboratory tests which rapidly age seed have provided an additional indicator of relative seed persistence. Each method has its advantages, drawbacks and logistical constraints.
Soil seed bank
Mikania micrantha
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Background and AimsSeed survival in the soil contributes to population persistence and community diversity, creating a need for reliable measures of soil seed bank persistence. Several methods estimate soil seed bank persistence, most of which count seedlings emerging from soil samples. Seasonality, depth distribution and presence (or absence) in vegetation are then used to classify a species' soil seed bank into persistent or transient, often synthesized into a longevity index. This study aims to determine if counts of seedlings from soil samples yield reliable seed bank persistence estimates and if this is correlated to seed production.
Soil seed bank
Persistence (discontinuity)
Arable land
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Simultaneous formation of aerial and soil seed banks by a species provides a mechanism for population maintenance in unpredictable environments. Eolian activity greatly affects growth and regeneration of plants in a sand dune system, but we know little about the difference in the contributions of these two seed banks to population dynamics in sand dunes. Seed release, germination, seedling emergence and survival of a desert annual, Agriophyllum squarrosum (Chenopodiaceae), inhabiting the Ordos Sandland in China, were determined in order to explore the different functions of the aerial and soil seed banks. The size of the aerial seed bank was higher than that of the soil seed bank throughout the growing season. Seed release was positively related to wind velocity. Compared with the soil seed bank, seed germination from the aerial seed bank was lower at low temperature (5/15 °C night/day) but higher in the light. Seedling emergence from the soil seed bank was earlier than that from the aerial seed bank. Early-emerged (15 April–15 May) seedlings died due to frost, but seedlings that emerged during the following months survived to reproduce successfully. The timing of seed release and different germination behaviour resulted in a temporal heterogeneity of seedling emergence and establishment between the two seed banks. The study suggests that a bet-hedging strategy for the two seed banks enables A. squarrosum populations to cope successfully with the unpredictable desert environment.
Soil seed bank
Sand dune stabilization
Growing season
Annual plant
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The ability of short-lived tree species such as birch, alder, willow, poplar and rowan to form even a short-term soil seed bank is discussed controversially in the literature. Soil seed banks are an important component of succession and regeneration in ecosystems. Following disturbance, buried viable seeds germinate and the seedlings that establish cover the disturbed, exposed soil surfaces. The objective of this study was to undertake a literature review of soil seed bank research carried out in central and north-west European temperate forests to provide an overview of the ability of pioneer tree species to form a viable seed bank. The review of 33 publications revealed that birch is the only pioneer tree species of temperate forests with longer-lived seeds, persisting in the soil for 1 - 5 years. Birch seeds remain viable in deeper soil layers (5 - 10 cm), so birch may be assigned to the short-term persistent soil seed bank type. The seeds of alder, willow and poplar would appear to be short-lived. Maximum seed densities of all tree species were found in the upper soil layers. With increasing soil depth, seed density declined. Viable seeds of rowan were not detected in any of the soil seed bank studies, although seed trees were present. We found that in spite of the capacity for long seed dispersal distances, high densities of birch, alder and willow seeds were only observed in close proximity to seed trees. The higher the numbers of seed trees, the higher the seed densities in soils. Maximum seed densities were recorded during and shortly after seed rains had occurred. Our results reveal that a birch seed bank may compensate for years with lower levels of seed production. However, as the seed bank is only short-term persistent, it must be supplemented by fresh seeds from surrounding seed trees as often as possible to guarantee a continuous capacity for regeneration.
Soil seed bank
Rowan
Temperate rainforest
Pioneer species
Temperate forest
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If a species forms a persistent seed bank, its germination ecology cannot be fully understood until the dynamics of the seeds in the seed bank are elucidated. This chapter covers aerial and buried persistent seed banks, transient vs. persistent seed banks, formation of soil seed banks including role of animals and of plowing, spatial heterogeneity of soil seed banks, methodology of studies, longevity of seeds including inferred and actual ages, causes of seed death, models of seed dynamics in the soil, effects of seed banks on populations of species and of persistence of communities and role of seed banks in restoration of plant communities.
Soil seed bank
Persistence (discontinuity)
Seed predation
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Recognition of critical limit of soil seed bank and influence of some agro practices of annual medics in dry lands is very essential for successful. Objective of this study was to determine the effects of different planting systems, cutting forage at different stages of growth phenology, depth of seed burial, planting seeds with pods or without pods on seed bank, emergence, seedling establishment, and natural regeneration. The experiments were conducted in 2009-2011 in Iran. Results showed that cutting forage in different phonological stages affected on seed production and seed bank of annual medics, so that cutting forage at the beginning of flowering compared to 50 percentage of flowering either produced more seed or created rich soil seed bank. The more depth of seed burial caused not only delayed seed emergence, but also seedling establishment was weaken. Planted seeds with pods in comparison with seeds without pods were caused longer existence of seeds in the soil. Method of planting with dry pressing caused early seed emergence, suitable establishment and as a result earlier flowering that produced more seed yield and created a rich seed bank. Therefore Intercropping of different species of annual medics compared with monoculture has more benefit in all different aspects and establishment of seed bank.
Soil seed bank
Intercropping
Monoculture
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A field germination experiment of soil seed bank was carried out on two typical floodplains in the lower reaches of Tarim River, and a comparison was made between the soil seed banks and corresponding seedling banks on the two floodplains, aimed to assess the contribution of soil seed bank to the regeneration of damaged vegetation. The results showed that there were 12 plant species in the soil seed banks, and the life forms were mainly perennial herbs and shrubs. The soil seed banks had a density of 282.5 seeds m(-2) and 173.2 seeds x m(-2), and the seeds in top soil (0-2 cm) accounted for 76.9% and 71.0% of the total, respectively. The soil seed banks had significant effects on the seedlings species composition and density, and 84.7% and 99.4% of the seedlings on the two floodplains were emerged from corresponding soil seed banks. The similarity coefficient between soil seed bank and seedling bank of the two floodplains was 0.72 and 0.63, respectively, and there existed significant positive correlation between seedling density and soil seed bank density, illustrating that soil seed bank made important contribution to the natural regeneration of vegetation.
Soil seed bank
Bank
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In the Horqin sandland,the soil seed bank and the seedling bank in fenced sandy meadow were studied by using methods of sampling quadrats and germinating.The results showed that density of the seed bank was 13 854±1 651 viable seeds/m2,and density of the seedling bank was 808±164 plants/m2,6% of density of the seed bank.Pairedsamples T test indicated that there was a significant difference between the density of the seed bank and that of the seedling bank (F=36.0,n=219,P0.001).Number of species of the seed bank and the seedling bank were 37 and 44 respectively.Annuals and biennials occupied the ratio of 62% and 50%,perennials of 24% and 41% and shrubs of 14% and 9%,respectively.Sorensens similarity coefficient for species composition in the seed bank and the seedling bank was 0.667,showing little spatial heterogeneity.Regression indicated that the relationship between density of the seed bank and that of the seedling bank could be described by a cubic curve.
Soil seed bank
Quadrat
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