Abstract
The dynamics of soil seed banks and seed movement was investigated in three bare alkali-saline patches in Songnen grassland, Northeast China, for exploring their potential role in the vegetation restoration of bare alkali-saline patches. The results showed that the seed banks and the seed movement in these patches were very similar to each other, and to some extent the seed movement was related to patch-side vegetation there. Seed movement across the soil surface of these bare alkali-saline patches was abundant and dominated by the seeds of pioneer species, such asChloris virgata andSuaeda corniculata, which accounted for over 96% of these trapped seeds. In the contrast, soil seed banks of bare patches were extremely small, in different seasons, especially in May and June, even no any seed have been found, mainly due to lowest retaining capacity of surface soil to those abundant seed movement. Both soil seed banks and seed, movement showed seasonal variation, and usually reached the maximum in October. Soil seed banks of bare alkali-saline patches, which were extremely small and difficult to recruit naturally, may inhibit speed of vegetation restoration. It is suggested that seed movement would be the potential seed source and play a potentially important role in the process of vegetation restoration of bare alkali-saline patches by enhancing the soil retaining capacity to seed movement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aguiar, M.R. and Sala, O.E. 1997. Seed distribution constrains the dynamics of the Patagonian steppe [J]. Ecology,78: 93–100.
Augusto, L., Dupouey, J.L., Picard, J.F.,et al. 2001. Potential contribution of the seed bank in coniferous plantations to the restoration of native deciduous forest vegetation [J]. Acta Oecologia,22: 87–98.
Bai Wenming, Bao Xinmin and Li Linghao. 2004. Effect of Agriophyllum squarrosum seed banks on its colonization in a moving sand dune in Hunshandake Sand Land of China [J]. Journal of Arid Environment,59: 151–157.
Cabin, R.J. and Marshall, D.L. 2000. The demographic role of soil seed banks. I. Spatial and temporal comparisons of below- and above-ground populations of the desert mustardLesquerella fendleri [J]. Journal of Ecology,88: 283–292.
Decaëns, T., Mariani, L., Betancourt, N.,et al. 2003. Seed dispersion by surface casting activities of earthworms in Colombian grasslands [J]. Acta Oecologia,24: 175–185.
Gul, B. and Weber, D.J. 2001. Seed bank dynamics in a great basin salt playa [J]. Journal of Arid Environment,49: 785–794.
Guo, Q.F., Rundel, P.W. and Goodall, D.W. 1998. Horizontal and vertical distribution of desert seed banks: patterns, causes, and implications [J]. Journal of Arid Environment,38: 465–478.
Gutiérrez, J. and Meserve, P.L. 2003. Ei Niño effects on soil seed bank dynamics in north-central Chile [J]. Oecologia134: 511–517.
He Nianpeng, Wu Ling and Zhou Daowei. 2004. Effect of inserting cornstalk in bare alkali-saline patches on survival rate ofChloris virgata andSuaeda corniculata [J]. Acta phytoecologia Sinica,28: 258–263.
He Nianpeng, Wu Ling, Jiang Shicheng,et al. 2004. Amelioration of secondary bare alkali-saline patches in songnen plain through inserting cornstalk [J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology,15: 969–972. (in Chinese)
Hyatt, L.A. and Casper, B.B. 2000. Seed bank formation during early secondary succession in a temperate deciduous forest [J]. Journal of Ecology,88: 516–527.
Inglis, G.J. 2000. Disturbance-related heterogeneity in the seed banks of a marine angiosperm [J]. Journal of Ecology,88: 88–99.
Jalili, A., Hamzeh'ee, B., Asri, Y.,et al. 2003. Soil seed banks in the Arasbaran Protected Area of Iran and their significance for conservation management [J]. Biological Conservation,109: 425–431.
Kalamees, R. and Zobel, M. 1998. Soil seed bank composition in different successional stage of a species rich wooded meadow in Laelatu, western Estonia [J]. Acta Oecologia,19: 175–180.
Lópea-Mariño, A., Luis-Calabuig, E., Fillat, F.,et al. 2000. Floristic composition of established vegetation and the soil seed bank in pasture communities under different traditional management regimes [J]. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment,78: 273–282.
Ma Keping. 1994. Measurement of biodiversity [C]. IN: Qian, Y.Q. (ed.), Biodiversity Studies Series No. 1, Principles and Methodologies of Biodiversity Studies. Beijing: Chinese Scientific & Technological Press, 141–165. (in Chinese)
Mayor, M.D., Bóo, R.N., Peláez, D.V.,et al. 2003. Seasonal variation of the soil seed bank of grasses in central argentina as related to grazing and shrub cover [J]. Journal of Arid Environment,53: 467–477.
Nathan, R. and Casagrandi, R. 2004. A simple mechanistic model of seed dispersal, predation and plant establishment: Janzen-Connell and beyond [J]. Journal of Ecology,92: 733–746.
Nathan, R., Safriel, U.N., Nor-Meir, I.,et al. 2000. Spatiotemporal variation in seed dispersal and recruitment near and fromPinus halepensis trees [J]. Ecology,81: 2156–2169.
Onaindia, M. and Amezaga, I. 2000. Seasonal variation in the seed banks of native woodland and coniferous plantations in Northern Spain [J]. Forest Ecology and Management,126: 163–172.
Rand, T.A. 2000. Seed dispersal, habitat suitability and the distribution of halophytes across a salt marsh tidal gradient [J]. Journal of Ecology,88: 608–621.
Wolda, H. 1983. Diversity, diversity indices and tropical cockroaches [J]. Oecologia, 58:290–298.
Wu Ling, He Nianpeng and Zhou Daowei. 2002. Cornstalk to improve alkali-saline soil in songnen grassland [J]. Grassland in China,23: 34–38. (in Chinese)
Xin Xiaoping, Xu Bin, Shan Baoqing,et al. 2000. Patch dynamics and scale-transition analysis of grassland in restoration succession [J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica,20: 577–593. (in Chinese)
Yang Yunfei and Zhu Ling. 1995. Comparative analysis of seed banks in saline-alkali communities in the Songnen plain of china [J]. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica,19: 144–148.
Zhang, D. F. and Wang, S. J. 2001. The process and driving forces of eco-geo-environmental evolution of the Songnen Plain in northeast China since the quaternary [J]. Environmental Geology,40: 1362–1366.
Zhen Huiying and Li Jiandong. 1999. Grassland vegetation of song-nen plain and their utilization [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 5–21. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The study was supported by the State Basic Research and Development Plan of China (G2000018602).
Biography: WU Ling (1977-), female, Ph.D. in Laboratory of Quantative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100093, P.R. China.
Responsible editor: Zhu Hong
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ling, W., Dao-wei, Z. Seed movement of bare alkali-saline patches and their potential role in the ecological restoration in Songnen grassland, China. Journal of Forestry Research 16, 270–274 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858187
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858187