Abstract
In the prairie pothole region, it is often assumed that relict seed banks in restored wetlands contain the seeds needed to re-establish their predrainage vegetation. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the composition of the seed banks of drained wetlands with those previously reported in undrained wetlands. Most of the species whose seeds were found in drained wetlands were annual or perennial herbs that are also found in undrained wetlands, primarily on exposed mudflats during drawdowns. Very few seeds of the emergent, free-floating or submersed species that dominate the seed banks and vegetation of undrained wetlands were found in the seed banks of drained wetlands. A second hypothesis was tested: the seed banks of drained floodplain wetlands have more species and seeds than those of drained palustrine wetlands. The seed banks of drained floodplain wetlands were significantly larger (mean total 1,660 seeds per sample, n = 10) than those in the drained palustrine wetlands (460 seeds per sample, n = 10). There was, however, no significant difference in the mean total number of species (26 and 29) or mean number of wetland species (18 and 18). The species composition of seed banks varied significantly among drained floodplain wetlands and among drained palustrine wetlands.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Polk County Conservation Board for permission and assistance with sampling the Chichaqua sites and the Iowa National Guard for their permission to sample the Camp Dodge sites. Mary Jones of the Iowa National Guard was particularly helpful with assistance in getting permission to sample at Camp Dodge. I would especially like to thank David Bye who collected all of the field samples and set up the seedling assay; Dick Williams who helped with the seedling counts; Deb Lewis of the Ada Hayden Herbarium at Iowa State University, for her assistance with plant identifications; and Erin Gibney who compiled and entered the seed-bank data.
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van der Valk, A.G. Seed Banks of Drained Floodplain, Drained Palustrine, and Undrained Wetlands in Iowa, USA. Wetlands 33, 183–190 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0366-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0366-9