Vegetation restoration and reconstruction are effective approaches to desertification control and achieving social and economic sustainability in desert areas.However,the self-succession ability of native plants durin...Vegetation restoration and reconstruction are effective approaches to desertification control and achieving social and economic sustainability in desert areas.However,the self-succession ability of native plants during the later periods of vegetation restoration remains unclear.Therefore,this study was conducted to bridge the knowledge gap by investigating the regeneration dynamics of artificial forest under natural conditions.The information of seed rain and soil seed bank was collected and quantified from an artificial Caragana korshinskii Kom.forest in the Tengger Desert,China.The germination tests were conducted in a laboratory setting.The analysis of species quantity and diversity in seed rain and soil seed bank was conducted to assess the impact of different durations of sand fixation(60,40,and 20 a)on the progress of vegetation restoration and ecological conditions in artificial C.korshinskii forest.The results showed that the top three dominant plant species in seed rain were Echinops gmelinii Turcz.,Eragrostis minor Host.,and Agropyron mongolicum Keng.,and the top three dominant plant species in soil seed bank were E.minor,Chloris virgata Sw.,and E.gmelinii.As restoration period increased,the density of seed rain and soil seed bank increased first and then decreased.While for species richness,as restoration period increased,it gradually increased in seed rain but decreased in soil seed bank.There was a positive correlation between seed rain density and soil seed bank density among all the three restoration periods.The species similarity between seed rain or soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation decreased with the extension of restoration period.The shape of the seeds,specifically those with external appendages such as spines and crown hair,clearly had an effect on their dispersal,then resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank.In addition,precipitation was a crucial factor in promoting rapid germination,also resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank.Our findings provide valuable insights for guiding future interventions during the later periods of artificial C.korshinskii forest,such as sowing and restoration efforts using unmanned aerial vehicles.展开更多
Spatiotemporal variation of seed rain reflects the response of plants in terms of their reproductive strategy to environmental gradients.In this study,we collected seeds from four sites in the Dalaoling Nature Reserve...Spatiotemporal variation of seed rain reflects the response of plants in terms of their reproductive strategy to environmental gradients.In this study,we collected seeds from four sites in the Dalaoling Nature Reserve,Hubei Province,China,between 2011 and 2014,measured seed output and seed mass as seed rain traits,and compared their interannual and elevational variation.Then,we ran phylogenetic generalized mixed linear models(PGLMMs) to explore the effects of temperature and precipitation as well as interspecific differences on seed rain,and fitted the best regression models for seed rain vs.weather of canopy and understory species.The results showed no correlation between values of seed output and seed mass.However,the variation of the two traits showed significantly positive correlation.Seed output of canopy species generally decreased with increasing elevation,and showed significant interannual difference;however,seed output of understory species and seed mass for both canopy and understory species did not show consistency tends along elevational or in interannual variation.Seed output was significantly affected by temperature and precipitation,while seed mass mainly varied due to interspecific differences.Weather explained more the variation of the seed output of canopy species than that of understory species,with R^(2) values of 43.0%and 29.9%,respectively.These results suggested that canopy plants contributed more to the reproductive dynamics of the whole communities,and the canopy's buffer effect on the underground weakened the response of understory plants to weather variation in terms of their reproductive strategy.展开更多
Seed distribution and deposition patterns around parent trees are strongly aff ected by functional traits and therefore infl uence the development of plant communities.To assess the limitations of seed dispersal and t...Seed distribution and deposition patterns around parent trees are strongly aff ected by functional traits and therefore infl uence the development of plant communities.To assess the limitations of seed dispersal and the extent to which diaspore and neighbouring parental traits explain seed rain,we used a 9-year seed data set based on 150 seed traps in a 25-ha area of a temperate forest in the Changbai Mountain.Among 480,598 seeds belonging to 12 families,17 genera,and 26 species were identifi ed,only 54%of the species with mature trees in the community were represented in seeds collected over the 9 years,indicating a limitation in seed dispersal.Understory species were most limited;overstory species were least limited.Species with wind-dispersed seed had the least limitation,while the lowest similarity in species richness was for animal-dispersed species followed by gravity-dispersed species;fl eshy-fruited species had stronger dispersal limitations than dry-fruited species.Generalized linear mixed models showed that relative basal area had a signifi cant positive eff ect on seed abundance in traps,while the contribution of diaspore traits was low for nearly all groups.These results suggest that tree traits had the strongest contribution to seed dispersal and deposition for all functional groups examined here.These fi ndings strengthen the knowledge that tree traits are key in explaining seed deposition patterns,at least at the primary dispersal stage.This improved knowledge of sources of seeds that are dispersed could facilitate greater understanding of seedling and community dynamics in temperate forests.展开更多
Seed dispersal is a fundamental process affecting destinies of seeds and seedlings, as well as regeneration dynamics and distribution patterns of communities. Recently however, declining Populus euphratica forests hav...Seed dispersal is a fundamental process affecting destinies of seeds and seedlings, as well as regeneration dynamics and distribution patterns of communities. Recently however, declining Populus euphratica forests have failed to regenerate by seeding, while the spatial pattern and utility of their seed rains are unclear. In this study, we designed a model to simulate seed rains based on field investigations by fitting our observations to a normal distribution and testing the model with data from three years, with ac- ceptable results. We examined the simulated results of dispersed seeds patterns on the classification of three factors, i.e., density of Sophora alopecuroides, surface soil moisture and surface soil salinity. The results of seed rain simulation show that over 70% of seeds were dispersed and confined to each of the three plots where their mother trees located. The proportion of 3：7 seeds dispersed inside and outside each plots remained largely unaltered. The differences in the amounts of dispersed seed among the different levels of each of the factors were not significant, although the distributing pattern of P. euphratica in each plot varied. Therefore, in P. eu- phratica communities, the amount of seed does not become a constraint in subsequent germination, although the surface environment does. We conclude that successful P. euphratica seed regeneration relies on less than 30% of seeds dispersed over longer distance to colonize favorable growth habitats.展开更多
Understanding the effects of disturbance on seed rain is critical to predict changes in forest species composition and diversity.Logging effects on seed rain in a mixed conifer-hardwood forest complex in southern Braz...Understanding the effects of disturbance on seed rain is critical to predict changes in forest species composition and diversity.Logging effects on seed rain in a mixed conifer-hardwood forest complex in southern Brazil were evaluated.One year of seed rain data were collected from a large-scale observational experiment in logged and protected forests and quantity and average seed size weighted by species abundance(CWM)were compared between old-growth and logged stands 55 years after logging activities.Using these data,variations in frequency of functional groups of species in the seed rain were examined to see if they could be attributed to logging.Results show that the number of seeds per trap was highly right-skewed,ranging from 13 to 12,788 seeds per trap in one year.Seed rain was affected by logging history,with seed traps in old-growth plots receiving significantly less seeds than traps in logged plots.All species included mean seed size weighted by species abundance were significantly smaller in logged than in old-growth forests.This difference persisted after the exclusion of Arawcaria a large-seeded pioneer which was intensively logged,although the difference of seed size between the two forest classes was greatly reduced.Species abundance in the seed rain differed significantly from the established tree community,between logged and oldgrowth stands.The composition of the seed rain was much more variable than the composition of the established tree community and its points more scattered over the ordination space than the points corresponding to the protected forests.The number of collected seeds across different functional groups of species significantly differed between logged and old-growth plots.The seed rain of logged forests reflects their arrested succes sion as indicated by reduced abundance of functional groups such as pioneers,large seeded pioneers and A raucaria,as well as reduced functional diversity.S eed rain differences between logged and old-growth stands reflect the intensive logging of A.angustifolia.展开更多
In semi-arid lands,vegetation is distributed in shrub patches immersed in a less vegetated interpatch matrix.Grazing affects perennial grass seed bank through a decrease in seed rain and an increase in seed predation ...In semi-arid lands,vegetation is distributed in shrub patches immersed in a less vegetated interpatch matrix.Grazing affects perennial grass seed bank through a decrease in seed rain and an increase in seed predation and soil compaction.Nevertheless,some species with anchorage mechanisms in their seeds might overcome this,such as Nassella tenuis(Phil.)Barkworth.This is an important species in grazing paddocks because it has an intermediate palatability and its relatively tolerant to grazing.These characteristics allow N.tenuis to increase its abundance in grazed sites.Our objective was to assess how grazing affects the key palatable species from seeds to seedlings:i.e.,seed rain,soil seed bank,and seedling recruitment in different microsites along a windward-leeward transect across shrub canopy.We hypothesized that:(1)the negative effects of grazing on N.tenuis fructification are reflected in its seed rain,soil seed bank,and seedling recruitment,especially in interpatches;(2)Nassella tenuis seed rain reduction,soil compaction by cattle in grazed sites,and removal of seeds by wind decrease its soil seed bank,especially in microsites exposed to the predominant wind;and(3)the decrease in N.tenuis soil seed bank and cover increase in annual species in grazed sites have negative effects on its seedling recruitment,especially in microsites exposed to predominant wind.We placed seed traps,collected soil samples,and monitored seedling recruitment in different locations around shrub canopy to address our hypotheses.Also,we established a manipulative experiment in which we sow N.tenuis seeds and followed its recruitment in different microsites.We compared the seed rain,soil seed bank,natural seedling recruitment,and sown seeds recruitment of N.tenuis between grazed and ungrazed sites.We analyzed differences between microsites along a windward-leeward transect across shrubs patches.Seed rain and soil seed bank had the same density in patches and interpatches both in ungrazed and grazed sites.But seed rain was higher,and soil seed bank was lower in ungrazed sites than in grazed sites.Almost all under-canopy microsites showed greater soil seed bank abundance and natural seedling recruitment in ungrazed sites.Sown seeds recruitment was the same between grazed and ungrazed sites,but it showed protective effects of shrubs in leeward microsites under grazed sites.As a conclusion,seed rain and soil seed bank are complementary under grazed sites.展开更多
Understanding the mechanisms and barriers to the restoration of degraded land,especially post agriculture,will help provide protocols on effective ways of restoration into functional ecosystems.One of the barriers in ...Understanding the mechanisms and barriers to the restoration of degraded land,especially post agriculture,will help provide protocols on effective ways of restoration into functional ecosystems.One of the barriers in early stages of forest restoration is the arrival and availability of propagules.Seed rain and factors affecting it(i.e.,distance to the forest edge,species diversity and surrounding vegetation)were measured in a reforested post-agricultural field and in an adjacent secondary forest.Multivariate g lm analysis was used on the seed rain community data and univariate lm analysis on the most abundant seed captured(i.e.,Schima wallichii(DC.)Korth.).After 8 months of seed rain collection,there was a total of 3596 seeds from eight tree species.Seeds were more abundant and more diverse in the secondary forest(74.9%,8 species)compared to the reforested field(24.1%,2 species).There was a limitation on seed dispersal in reforested field from the adjacent forest.The abundance of S.wallichii seeds determined by the dominance of adult trees(136 trees/ha in the forest and 115 trees/ha in the reforested field).Our study suggests,that after 7 years of planting,the reforested field has received limited seed rain and has not yet recovered.展开更多
Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynami...Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose to monitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43 ± 5.15, 54.13 ±182.75, 10.05 ±19.30 and 24.91 ± 58.86 inds/m^2, respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. in each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October. The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.展开更多
Seed dynamics is an important part of stand dynamics in forest ecosystems. In this paper, 26 gaps were randomly selected to study the influence of gaps on the spatial and temporal patterns of seed rains in a tropical ...Seed dynamics is an important part of stand dynamics in forest ecosystems. In this paper, 26 gaps were randomly selected to study the influence of gaps on the spatial and temporal patterns of seed rains in a tropical montane rainforest of Hainan Island, South China. Three zones for each gap, including outside gap zone （Non-gap）, transitional gap zone （EG-CG）, and central gap zone （CG）, were designed, and fourseed traps （each lm x lm in size） were placed in each zone. Seed rains were collected by these traps every 10 days from June 2001 to May 2002. Seed rain varied greatly with season and generally exhibited a pattern of unimodal change during the study period： seed abundance and species richness were both greater in the wet season than in the dry season. Gaps significantly influenced the temporal patterns of both species richness and density of seed rains. Gaps had no significant influences on the spatial distribution patterns of seed rain species richness, but significantly affected the spatial distribution pattern of seed rain densities. Among the three different zones of gaps, the outside gap zone generally received more seeds inputs than the two other gap zones.展开更多
Seeds and seedlings of five broad-leaved species were separately exposed to simulated acid rain at pH values of 2.0, 3.5, 5.0, and 6.0, or to distilled water (the control). The results showed that seed germination was...Seeds and seedlings of five broad-leaved species were separately exposed to simulated acid rain at pH values of 2.0, 3.5, 5.0, and 6.0, or to distilled water (the control). The results showed that seed germination was remarkably inhibited by pH 2.0 treatment for three species. Significant foliar damage, decline in chlorophyll contents, and retardation of the seedlings growth of all the species, were observed at pH 2.0 treatment. The pH 2.0 treatment seemed to be a threshold level for inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth for all the treated species, while seedling was stimulated at pH value between 3.5 and 5.0.展开更多
Pinusdensata is one of the main constructive species for coniferous forests in southeast Tibet. P. densata forests are important water conservation forests in the drainage basins of the middle and lower reaches of Yal...Pinusdensata is one of the main constructive species for coniferous forests in southeast Tibet. P. densata forests are important water conservation forests in the drainage basins of the middle and lower reaches of Yalu Tsangpo River, Nyang River and Parlung Zangbo River. In this study, with P. densata forest distributed in southeast Tibet as research object, the seed rain, soil seed bank, seed germination and natural regeneration of P. densata were monitored and ana- lyzed by field investigation, located monitoring and indoor experimental analysis. The results showed that the average intensity of the seed rain of P. densata was 249.30±78.42 seeds/m2, in which the intensity of full seeds was 168.09±56.36 seeds/m2, the intensity of seeds damaged by worms was 41.11±20.25 seeds/m2, and the intensity of empty seeds was 40.10±21.04 seeds/m2. The intensity of the seed rain exhibited a single-peak trend of increasing at first and decreasing then over time. The spatial distribution patterns in the whole seed falling process and at different seed falling time all exhibited clumping distribution, and within in certain range, with the distance from the seed tree increasing, the diffusion intensity of the seed rain was weakened, exhibiting approximately normal distribution. In average density of P. densata seeds in the soil seed bank of P. densata was 231 seeds/m2, in which 62.77% of seeds were distributed in the litter layer, and 37.23% of seeds were distributed in the soil layer, and about 8% of seeds were lost during the pro- cess from seed rain to soil seed bank. Field sowing observation showed that the accumulated germination rate curve of P. densata fitted with Logistics equation y= 91.404/（1＋e66194.449）. The height structure, basal diameter structure and age structure of seedlings and young trees of P. densata were all of reverse ＂J＂ type, indicating good natural regeneration of P. densata. This study would provide a science basis for protection and resource management of P. densata, and further enrich the eval- uation content of national ecological safety curtain of the Tibet plateau.展开更多
Soil seed banks can act as a potential seed source for natural revegetation and restoration. However, in a saline-alkaline grassland, it remains unclear how the stages of vegetation succession affect the characteristi...Soil seed banks can act as a potential seed source for natural revegetation and restoration. However, in a saline-alkaline grassland, it remains unclear how the stages of vegetation succession affect the characteristics of soil seed banks and the potential of soil seed banks of different successional stages for vegetation restoration. In this study, seasonal changes of the soil seed bank, and seed production and dispersal dynamics along degradation successional gradients were investigated in a saline-alkaline grassland in Northeast China, where the dominant grass during the 1960 s, Leymus chinensis was replaced with the secondary successional order of Puccinellia chinampoensis, Chloris virgata, and Suaeda salsa, together with bare patches. It was found that the soil seed bank composition varied according to the changing vegetation and had the highest species richness(7–16) in the climax successional stage, but had a low S?rensen similarity(0.22–0.37) with the aboveground vegetation. There was a high seed density of the soil seed bank(21 062–62 166/m2 in August and December) and also high S?rensen similarity index values(0.47–0.60) in the secondary successional stages of P. chinampoensis, C. virgata, and S. salsa. In bare patches, there were many seeds in the soil seed bank and some seedlings also appeared in the aboveground vegetation, indicating the existence of a persistent soil seed bank. Seed density and species richness differed substantially among the different successional stages, which was related to the reproductive characteristics of the standing plants in vegetation communities. Due to the lack of propagules of perennial species, especially the climax species of L. chinensis, in the soil, the successful restoration of the degraded saline-alkaline grassland was not possible. The study proved that in a degraded saline-alkaline grassland dominated by biennial or annual species, the soil seed bank was important for the revegetation of the current dominant plants, but not for the restoration of the original target species. Therefore, it is necessary to induce seeds or other propagules of the target perennial species.展开更多
Alpine treeline ecotones are harsh environment for tree establishment due to low temperature.Tree establishment at treelines requires favorable climate,suitable microsites,and viable seeds.But most researches have bee...Alpine treeline ecotones are harsh environment for tree establishment due to low temperature.Tree establishment at treelines requires favorable climate,suitable microsites,and viable seeds.But most researches have been addressed treeline microclimate and its effects on tree regeneration,the knowledge of seed quantity and quality and its controls on seedling recruitment were limited.We measured seed rain,soil seed bank,seed germination rate and seedling recruitment in natural forests in combination with seed transplanting manipulation to evaluate the controls of seed quantity and quality on seedling recruitment of Abies georgei var.smithii(smith fir)along altitudinal gradient,with focus on treeline ecotone in the Sygera Mountains,southeastern Tibetan Plateau.Both seed quantity and seed quality of smith fir decreased with increasing altitude and was thereby associated with decline in seed germination rate.Seed quantity and seedling recruitment were better in north-facing slope than in south slope.The treeline ecotone above 42oo m appeared as the threshold altitude to sharply decrease seed quality and seedling recruitment.The emergence and overwintering rates of transplanting seeds from 3600-38oo m also went down remarkably above 4200 m at north-facing slope.It also underpins the fact that treeline ecotone is the bottleneck of seedling recruitment.Our results suggest that seed quantity and quality are the principal limitation of treeline upward advance.This study also provides evidence to support stable treeline position in southeastern Tibetan Plateau.展开更多
基金funded by the General Project of Key R&D Plan of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,China(2021BEG03008,2022BEG02012)the Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talent Project of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region(2021GKLRLX13)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31760707).
文摘Vegetation restoration and reconstruction are effective approaches to desertification control and achieving social and economic sustainability in desert areas.However,the self-succession ability of native plants during the later periods of vegetation restoration remains unclear.Therefore,this study was conducted to bridge the knowledge gap by investigating the regeneration dynamics of artificial forest under natural conditions.The information of seed rain and soil seed bank was collected and quantified from an artificial Caragana korshinskii Kom.forest in the Tengger Desert,China.The germination tests were conducted in a laboratory setting.The analysis of species quantity and diversity in seed rain and soil seed bank was conducted to assess the impact of different durations of sand fixation(60,40,and 20 a)on the progress of vegetation restoration and ecological conditions in artificial C.korshinskii forest.The results showed that the top three dominant plant species in seed rain were Echinops gmelinii Turcz.,Eragrostis minor Host.,and Agropyron mongolicum Keng.,and the top three dominant plant species in soil seed bank were E.minor,Chloris virgata Sw.,and E.gmelinii.As restoration period increased,the density of seed rain and soil seed bank increased first and then decreased.While for species richness,as restoration period increased,it gradually increased in seed rain but decreased in soil seed bank.There was a positive correlation between seed rain density and soil seed bank density among all the three restoration periods.The species similarity between seed rain or soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation decreased with the extension of restoration period.The shape of the seeds,specifically those with external appendages such as spines and crown hair,clearly had an effect on their dispersal,then resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank.In addition,precipitation was a crucial factor in promoting rapid germination,also resulting in lower seed density in soil seed bank.Our findings provide valuable insights for guiding future interventions during the later periods of artificial C.korshinskii forest,such as sowing and restoration efforts using unmanned aerial vehicles.
基金the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP)(No.2019QZKK0402)。
文摘Spatiotemporal variation of seed rain reflects the response of plants in terms of their reproductive strategy to environmental gradients.In this study,we collected seeds from four sites in the Dalaoling Nature Reserve,Hubei Province,China,between 2011 and 2014,measured seed output and seed mass as seed rain traits,and compared their interannual and elevational variation.Then,we ran phylogenetic generalized mixed linear models(PGLMMs) to explore the effects of temperature and precipitation as well as interspecific differences on seed rain,and fitted the best regression models for seed rain vs.weather of canopy and understory species.The results showed no correlation between values of seed output and seed mass.However,the variation of the two traits showed significantly positive correlation.Seed output of canopy species generally decreased with increasing elevation,and showed significant interannual difference;however,seed output of understory species and seed mass for both canopy and understory species did not show consistency tends along elevational or in interannual variation.Seed output was significantly affected by temperature and precipitation,while seed mass mainly varied due to interspecific differences.Weather explained more the variation of the seed output of canopy species than that of understory species,with R^(2) values of 43.0%and 29.9%,respectively.These results suggested that canopy plants contributed more to the reproductive dynamics of the whole communities,and the canopy's buffer effect on the underground weakened the response of understory plants to weather variation in terms of their reproductive strategy.
基金We gratefully thank Baizhang Song and Xichang He for collecting the seed rain data.This study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFC0500300)National Natural Science Foundation of China(31570432,31670632,41671050)by NSF Grant DEB-1745496 awarded to JML.
文摘Seed distribution and deposition patterns around parent trees are strongly aff ected by functional traits and therefore infl uence the development of plant communities.To assess the limitations of seed dispersal and the extent to which diaspore and neighbouring parental traits explain seed rain,we used a 9-year seed data set based on 150 seed traps in a 25-ha area of a temperate forest in the Changbai Mountain.Among 480,598 seeds belonging to 12 families,17 genera,and 26 species were identifi ed,only 54%of the species with mature trees in the community were represented in seeds collected over the 9 years,indicating a limitation in seed dispersal.Understory species were most limited;overstory species were least limited.Species with wind-dispersed seed had the least limitation,while the lowest similarity in species richness was for animal-dispersed species followed by gravity-dispersed species;fl eshy-fruited species had stronger dispersal limitations than dry-fruited species.Generalized linear mixed models showed that relative basal area had a signifi cant positive eff ect on seed abundance in traps,while the contribution of diaspore traits was low for nearly all groups.These results suggest that tree traits had the strongest contribution to seed dispersal and deposition for all functional groups examined here.These fi ndings strengthen the knowledge that tree traits are key in explaining seed deposition patterns,at least at the primary dispersal stage.This improved knowledge of sources of seeds that are dispersed could facilitate greater understanding of seedling and community dynamics in temperate forests.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.30570332,31070553)the 11th Five-Year Plan of the National Scientific and Technological Support Projects(2008BADB0B05)
文摘Seed dispersal is a fundamental process affecting destinies of seeds and seedlings, as well as regeneration dynamics and distribution patterns of communities. Recently however, declining Populus euphratica forests have failed to regenerate by seeding, while the spatial pattern and utility of their seed rains are unclear. In this study, we designed a model to simulate seed rains based on field investigations by fitting our observations to a normal distribution and testing the model with data from three years, with ac- ceptable results. We examined the simulated results of dispersed seeds patterns on the classification of three factors, i.e., density of Sophora alopecuroides, surface soil moisture and surface soil salinity. The results of seed rain simulation show that over 70% of seeds were dispersed and confined to each of the three plots where their mother trees located. The proportion of 3：7 seeds dispersed inside and outside each plots remained largely unaltered. The differences in the amounts of dispersed seed among the different levels of each of the factors were not significant, although the distributing pattern of P. euphratica in each plot varied. Therefore, in P. eu- phratica communities, the amount of seed does not become a constraint in subsequent germination, although the surface environment does. We conclude that successful P. euphratica seed regeneration relies on less than 30% of seeds dispersed over longer distance to colonize favorable growth habitats.
基金supported by the Brazilian National Council of Technological and Scientific Development(CNPq)through the"ProjetoEcológico de Longa Duração Conservação e Manejo Sustentávelde Ecossistemas Florestais—Bioma Araucária e suas Transições "(1999–2009)and through a Master degree scholarship to Angela Luciana de Avila。
文摘Understanding the effects of disturbance on seed rain is critical to predict changes in forest species composition and diversity.Logging effects on seed rain in a mixed conifer-hardwood forest complex in southern Brazil were evaluated.One year of seed rain data were collected from a large-scale observational experiment in logged and protected forests and quantity and average seed size weighted by species abundance(CWM)were compared between old-growth and logged stands 55 years after logging activities.Using these data,variations in frequency of functional groups of species in the seed rain were examined to see if they could be attributed to logging.Results show that the number of seeds per trap was highly right-skewed,ranging from 13 to 12,788 seeds per trap in one year.Seed rain was affected by logging history,with seed traps in old-growth plots receiving significantly less seeds than traps in logged plots.All species included mean seed size weighted by species abundance were significantly smaller in logged than in old-growth forests.This difference persisted after the exclusion of Arawcaria a large-seeded pioneer which was intensively logged,although the difference of seed size between the two forest classes was greatly reduced.Species abundance in the seed rain differed significantly from the established tree community,between logged and oldgrowth stands.The composition of the seed rain was much more variable than the composition of the established tree community and its points more scattered over the ordination space than the points corresponding to the protected forests.The number of collected seeds across different functional groups of species significantly differed between logged and old-growth plots.The seed rain of logged forests reflects their arrested succes sion as indicated by reduced abundance of functional groups such as pioneers,large seeded pioneers and A raucaria,as well as reduced functional diversity.S eed rain differences between logged and old-growth stands reflect the intensive logging of A.angustifolia.
基金supported by the National University of Río Negro(PI 40-C-654,PI 40-C-873)。
文摘In semi-arid lands,vegetation is distributed in shrub patches immersed in a less vegetated interpatch matrix.Grazing affects perennial grass seed bank through a decrease in seed rain and an increase in seed predation and soil compaction.Nevertheless,some species with anchorage mechanisms in their seeds might overcome this,such as Nassella tenuis(Phil.)Barkworth.This is an important species in grazing paddocks because it has an intermediate palatability and its relatively tolerant to grazing.These characteristics allow N.tenuis to increase its abundance in grazed sites.Our objective was to assess how grazing affects the key palatable species from seeds to seedlings:i.e.,seed rain,soil seed bank,and seedling recruitment in different microsites along a windward-leeward transect across shrub canopy.We hypothesized that:(1)the negative effects of grazing on N.tenuis fructification are reflected in its seed rain,soil seed bank,and seedling recruitment,especially in interpatches;(2)Nassella tenuis seed rain reduction,soil compaction by cattle in grazed sites,and removal of seeds by wind decrease its soil seed bank,especially in microsites exposed to the predominant wind;and(3)the decrease in N.tenuis soil seed bank and cover increase in annual species in grazed sites have negative effects on its seedling recruitment,especially in microsites exposed to predominant wind.We placed seed traps,collected soil samples,and monitored seedling recruitment in different locations around shrub canopy to address our hypotheses.Also,we established a manipulative experiment in which we sow N.tenuis seeds and followed its recruitment in different microsites.We compared the seed rain,soil seed bank,natural seedling recruitment,and sown seeds recruitment of N.tenuis between grazed and ungrazed sites.We analyzed differences between microsites along a windward-leeward transect across shrubs patches.Seed rain and soil seed bank had the same density in patches and interpatches both in ungrazed and grazed sites.But seed rain was higher,and soil seed bank was lower in ungrazed sites than in grazed sites.Almost all under-canopy microsites showed greater soil seed bank abundance and natural seedling recruitment in ungrazed sites.Sown seeds recruitment was the same between grazed and ungrazed sites,but it showed protective effects of shrubs in leeward microsites under grazed sites.As a conclusion,seed rain and soil seed bank are complementary under grazed sites.
基金financially supported by Institut Teknologi Bandung through Competitive Annual Research Funding Program year 2009。
文摘Understanding the mechanisms and barriers to the restoration of degraded land,especially post agriculture,will help provide protocols on effective ways of restoration into functional ecosystems.One of the barriers in early stages of forest restoration is the arrival and availability of propagules.Seed rain and factors affecting it(i.e.,distance to the forest edge,species diversity and surrounding vegetation)were measured in a reforested post-agricultural field and in an adjacent secondary forest.Multivariate g lm analysis was used on the seed rain community data and univariate lm analysis on the most abundant seed captured(i.e.,Schima wallichii(DC.)Korth.).After 8 months of seed rain collection,there was a total of 3596 seeds from eight tree species.Seeds were more abundant and more diverse in the secondary forest(74.9%,8 species)compared to the reforested field(24.1%,2 species).There was a limitation on seed dispersal in reforested field from the adjacent forest.The abundance of S.wallichii seeds determined by the dominance of adult trees(136 trees/ha in the forest and 115 trees/ha in the reforested field).Our study suggests,that after 7 years of planting,the reforested field has received limited seed rain and has not yet recovered.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30000024,30470313).
文摘Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose to monitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43 ± 5.15, 54.13 ±182.75, 10.05 ±19.30 and 24.91 ± 58.86 inds/m^2, respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. in each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October. The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30430570,30070602,and 30270244).
文摘Seed dynamics is an important part of stand dynamics in forest ecosystems. In this paper, 26 gaps were randomly selected to study the influence of gaps on the spatial and temporal patterns of seed rains in a tropical montane rainforest of Hainan Island, South China. Three zones for each gap, including outside gap zone （Non-gap）, transitional gap zone （EG-CG）, and central gap zone （CG）, were designed, and fourseed traps （each lm x lm in size） were placed in each zone. Seed rains were collected by these traps every 10 days from June 2001 to May 2002. Seed rain varied greatly with season and generally exhibited a pattern of unimodal change during the study period： seed abundance and species richness were both greater in the wet season than in the dry season. Gaps significantly influenced the temporal patterns of both species richness and density of seed rains. Gaps had no significant influences on the spatial distribution patterns of seed rain species richness, but significantly affected the spatial distribution pattern of seed rain densities. Among the three different zones of gaps, the outside gap zone generally received more seeds inputs than the two other gap zones.
文摘Seeds and seedlings of five broad-leaved species were separately exposed to simulated acid rain at pH values of 2.0, 3.5, 5.0, and 6.0, or to distilled water (the control). The results showed that seed germination was remarkably inhibited by pH 2.0 treatment for three species. Significant foliar damage, decline in chlorophyll contents, and retardation of the seedlings growth of all the species, were observed at pH 2.0 treatment. The pH 2.0 treatment seemed to be a threshold level for inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth for all the treated species, while seedling was stimulated at pH value between 3.5 and 5.0.
基金Supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(31460200)Natural Science Foundation of Tibet Autonomous Region(2016ZR-15-40)~~
文摘Pinusdensata is one of the main constructive species for coniferous forests in southeast Tibet. P. densata forests are important water conservation forests in the drainage basins of the middle and lower reaches of Yalu Tsangpo River, Nyang River and Parlung Zangbo River. In this study, with P. densata forest distributed in southeast Tibet as research object, the seed rain, soil seed bank, seed germination and natural regeneration of P. densata were monitored and ana- lyzed by field investigation, located monitoring and indoor experimental analysis. The results showed that the average intensity of the seed rain of P. densata was 249.30±78.42 seeds/m2, in which the intensity of full seeds was 168.09±56.36 seeds/m2, the intensity of seeds damaged by worms was 41.11±20.25 seeds/m2, and the intensity of empty seeds was 40.10±21.04 seeds/m2. The intensity of the seed rain exhibited a single-peak trend of increasing at first and decreasing then over time. The spatial distribution patterns in the whole seed falling process and at different seed falling time all exhibited clumping distribution, and within in certain range, with the distance from the seed tree increasing, the diffusion intensity of the seed rain was weakened, exhibiting approximately normal distribution. In average density of P. densata seeds in the soil seed bank of P. densata was 231 seeds/m2, in which 62.77% of seeds were distributed in the litter layer, and 37.23% of seeds were distributed in the soil layer, and about 8% of seeds were lost during the pro- cess from seed rain to soil seed bank. Field sowing observation showed that the accumulated germination rate curve of P. densata fitted with Logistics equation y= 91.404/（1＋e66194.449）. The height structure, basal diameter structure and age structure of seedlings and young trees of P. densata were all of reverse ＂J＂ type, indicating good natural regeneration of P. densata. This study would provide a science basis for protection and resource management of P. densata, and further enrich the eval- uation content of national ecological safety curtain of the Tibet plateau.
基金Under the auspices of National Basic Research Program of China(No.2015CB150802)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41371260,41771058)+1 种基金National Key Research&Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0501200)National Key Basic Survey of Resources(No.2015FY110500)
文摘Soil seed banks can act as a potential seed source for natural revegetation and restoration. However, in a saline-alkaline grassland, it remains unclear how the stages of vegetation succession affect the characteristics of soil seed banks and the potential of soil seed banks of different successional stages for vegetation restoration. In this study, seasonal changes of the soil seed bank, and seed production and dispersal dynamics along degradation successional gradients were investigated in a saline-alkaline grassland in Northeast China, where the dominant grass during the 1960 s, Leymus chinensis was replaced with the secondary successional order of Puccinellia chinampoensis, Chloris virgata, and Suaeda salsa, together with bare patches. It was found that the soil seed bank composition varied according to the changing vegetation and had the highest species richness(7–16) in the climax successional stage, but had a low S?rensen similarity(0.22–0.37) with the aboveground vegetation. There was a high seed density of the soil seed bank(21 062–62 166/m2 in August and December) and also high S?rensen similarity index values(0.47–0.60) in the secondary successional stages of P. chinampoensis, C. virgata, and S. salsa. In bare patches, there were many seeds in the soil seed bank and some seedlings also appeared in the aboveground vegetation, indicating the existence of a persistent soil seed bank. Seed density and species richness differed substantially among the different successional stages, which was related to the reproductive characteristics of the standing plants in vegetation communities. Due to the lack of propagules of perennial species, especially the climax species of L. chinensis, in the soil, the successful restoration of the degraded saline-alkaline grassland was not possible. The study proved that in a degraded saline-alkaline grassland dominated by biennial or annual species, the soil seed bank was important for the revegetation of the current dominant plants, but not for the restoration of the original target species. Therefore, it is necessary to induce seeds or other propagules of the target perennial species.
基金supported by the foundations of Special Research Program for Public-welfare Forestry(Grant No.200804001)Tibet Plateau Ecological Safety Barrier Monitor Evaluation Method and Technology Research(Grant No.KZCX2-XB3-08)Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA05090311)
文摘Alpine treeline ecotones are harsh environment for tree establishment due to low temperature.Tree establishment at treelines requires favorable climate,suitable microsites,and viable seeds.But most researches have been addressed treeline microclimate and its effects on tree regeneration,the knowledge of seed quantity and quality and its controls on seedling recruitment were limited.We measured seed rain,soil seed bank,seed germination rate and seedling recruitment in natural forests in combination with seed transplanting manipulation to evaluate the controls of seed quantity and quality on seedling recruitment of Abies georgei var.smithii(smith fir)along altitudinal gradient,with focus on treeline ecotone in the Sygera Mountains,southeastern Tibetan Plateau.Both seed quantity and seed quality of smith fir decreased with increasing altitude and was thereby associated with decline in seed germination rate.Seed quantity and seedling recruitment were better in north-facing slope than in south slope.The treeline ecotone above 42oo m appeared as the threshold altitude to sharply decrease seed quality and seedling recruitment.The emergence and overwintering rates of transplanting seeds from 3600-38oo m also went down remarkably above 4200 m at north-facing slope.It also underpins the fact that treeline ecotone is the bottleneck of seedling recruitment.Our results suggest that seed quantity and quality are the principal limitation of treeline upward advance.This study also provides evidence to support stable treeline position in southeastern Tibetan Plateau.
