Abstract
The species composition and density of seeds in the soil of a climax evergeen oak forest in the Kasugayama Forest Reserve, Nara, Japan were studied by directly extracting seeds from soil samples and using soil samples in planting boxes as the basis of germination tests.
A total of 33 species were identified from all seeds collected in 6 stands: 11 evergreen broadleaf, 15 deciduous broadleaf, 2 coniferous, 2 liana, 1 herb, and 2 grass species. Species producing sap fruits and dry fruits accounted for 60% and 40% of the total number of species, respectively. The species composition of all the seeds was independent of the species composition of the forest vegetation. The mean density of the seeds was 22,134 seeds/m2·5 cm.Eurya japonica, of which seeds were found in all soil samples, was the most abundant species, followed byCryptomeria japonica, Ilex micrococca, andBoehmeria longispica. Pioneer species such asMallotus japonicus, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, andAralia elata were found in all soil samples in spite of the paucity of adult trees in the forest. Seeds of evergreen oaks were relatively aboundant but no viable seeds were found. ViableE. japonica, I. micrococca, Symplocos prunifolia, andB. longispica seeds were abundant.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ha:
-
hectare (=10,000 m2)
References
Auclair, A.N. andG. Cottam. 1971. Dynamics of black cherry (Prunus serotina Erhr.) in southern Wisconsin oak forests. Ecol. Monogr.41: 153–177.
Harper, J.L., P.H. Lovell andK.G. Moore. 1970. The shapes and sizes of seeds. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst.1: 327–356.
Hayashi, I. andM. Numata. 1966. Ecological studies on the buried-seed population in the soil as related to plant succession IV.—From overmature pine forest toShiia sieboldii climax forest (Preliminary report). Ecological studies of biotic communities in the National Park for nature study No.1: 62–71 (in Japanese).
— and —. 1968. Ecological studies on the buried-seed population in the soil as related to plant succession, V.—From overmature pine stand to climaxShiia stand. Ecological studies of biotic communities in the National Park for nature study No.2: 1–7 (in Japanese).
Herrera, C.M. andP. Jordano. 1981.Prunus mahaleb and birds: The high-efficiency seed dispersal system of a temperate fruiting tree. Ecol. Monogr.51: 203–218.
Hill, M.O. andP.A. Stevens. 1981. The density of viable seed in soils of forest plantations in upland Britain. J. Ecol.69: 693–709.
Hodgkinson, K.C., G.N. Harrington andG.E. Miles. 1980. Composition, spatial and temporal variability of the soil seed pool in aEucalyptus populnea shrub woodland in central New South Wales. Aust. J. Ecol.5: 23–29.
Howard, T.M. andD.H. Ashton. 1967. Studies of soil seed in snow gum woodland (E. pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng var.alpina (Benth.) Ewart). Vict. Nat.84: 331–335.
Howe, H.F. andG.A. Vande-Kerckhove. 1979. Fecundity and seed dispersal of a tropical tree. Ecology60: 180–189.
Ishikawa, S. andT. Naito. 1978. On the seed dispersal ofChosenia arbutifolia (Poll.) A. Skvortz. Shushiseitai11: 10–15 (in Japanese).
Kamanoi, M., M. Nemoto, S. Hayashi, V. Pongskul and K. Bunpromma. 1983. Weeds (Cultivation of maize, its weeds and pathogens §2).In: K. Kyuma and C. Pairintra, ed., Shifting Cultivation: An experiment at Nam Phrom, northeast Thailand, and its implications for upland farming in the monsoon tropics. Report of a research project “Agroecological studies on shifting cultivation and its transformation process to sustained upland farming” p. 154–162.
Kohyama, T. andN. Fujita. 1981. Studies on theAbies population of Mt. Shimagare. I. Survivorship cure. Bot. Mag. Tokyo94: 55–68.
Lakon, G. 1949. The topographical tetrazolium method for determining the germinating capacity of seeds. Plant Physiol.24: 389–394.
Lieberman, D., J.B. Hall, M.D. Swaine andM. Lieberman. 1979. Seed dispersal by baboons in the Shai Hills, Ghana. Ecology60: 65–75.
Lorimer, C.G. 1980. Age structure and disturbance history of a southern Appalachian virgin forest. Ecology61: 1169–1184.
Marks, P.L. 1974. The role of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.) in the maintenance of stability of northern hardwood ecosystems. Ecol. Monogr.44: 73–88.
Naka, K. 1982. Community dynamics of evergreen broadleaf forests in southwestern Japan. I. Wind damaged trees and canopy gaps in an evergreen oak forest. Bot. Mag. Tokyo95: 385–399.
Nakagoshi, N. and H. Suzuki. Ecological studies on the buried viable seed population in soil of the forest comminites in Miyajima Island, southwestern Japan. HIKOBIA8: 180–192 (in Japanese).
Nakashizuka, T. andM. Numata. 1982. Regeneration prcess of climax beech forests I., Structure of a beech forest with the undergrowth ofSasa. Jap. J. Ecol.32: 57–67.
Ohga, N. 1983. Structure and function of buried seed population in soil in the Loma vegetation.In: M. Numata, ed., Contemporary Ecology of Japan p. 291–300. Kyoritsushuppan, Tokyo (in Japanese).
Olmsted, N.W. andJ.D. Curtis. 1947. Seeds of the forest floor. Ecology28: 49–52.
Osada, T. 1976. Coloured illustrations of naturalized plants of Japan. Hoikusha, Osaka (in Japanese).
Silvertown, J. 1980. Leaf-canopy-induced seed dormany in a grassland flora. New Phytol.85: 109–118.
Stebbins, G.L. 1971. Adaptive radiation of reproductive characteristics in angiosperms, II: Seeds and seedlings. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst.2: 237–260.
Suzuki, E. 1979. Regeneration ofTsuga sieboldii forest. I. Dynamics of development of a mature stand revealed by stem analysis data. Jap. J. Ecol.29: 375–386 (in Japanese).
— 1980. Regeneration ofTsuga sieboldii forest. II. Two cases of regenerations occurred about 260 and 50 years ago. Jap. J. Ecol.30: 333–346 (in Japanese).
— 1981. Regeneration ofTsuga sieboldii forest. III. Regeneration under a canopy gap with low density level of conifer seedlings and a method for estimating the time of gap formation. Jap. J. Ecol.31: 307–316 (in Japanese).
Tagawa, H. 1969. A preliminary investigation of seed fall in an evergreen broadleaf forest of Minamata Special Research Area of IBP. Sci. Rep. Kagoshima Univ. No.18: 27–41.
Tagawa, H. 1979. An investigation of initial regeneration of seed fall in an evergreen broadleaved forest. II. Seedfall, seedling production, survival and age distribution of seedlings.In: A. Miyawaki, ed., Vegetation und Landschaft Japans, Bull. Yokohama Phytosoc. Soc. Japan16: 379–391. Yokohama.
Tsuda, M. K. Gose, T. Watanabe, T. Kasagi and K. Tani. 1971. Nature in Nara City.In: T. Koshimizu, ed., Nature and History of Nara City p. 261–354. Nara City, Nara (in Japanese).
Váquez-Yánes, C. andH. Smith. 1982. Phytochrome control of seed germination in the tropical rain forest pioneer treesCecropia obtusifolia andPiper auritum and its ecological significance. New Phytol.92: 477–485.
Wesson, G. andP.F. Wareing. 1967. Light requirements of buried seeds. Nature, Lond.213: 600–601.
Yamanaka, T. 1975. Care of tree seedlings. Seibundoshinkosha, Tokyo (in Japanese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Naka, K., Yoda, K. Community dynamics of evergreen broadleaf forests in southwestern Japan. II. Species composition and density of seeds buried in the soil of a climax evergreen oak forest. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 97, 61–79 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488147
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488147