Abstract
Definitions of seed banks are discussed in the introductory part of the paper. In the second part, a literature review regarding sampling problems in soil seed bank ecology is presented. Regarding sampling depth, a rapid decline in soil seed content is demonstrated from example studies. The use of soil cores with 5 cm or 10 cm depth is suggested to ensure comparability of results. For determination of optimal sample volumes for various communities, the species saturation model is suggested such that “minimal volume” can be defined for soil seed banks in the same way that “minimal area” can be defined in phytosociological studies. Although sampling time may depend on research goals for vegetation types with a winter standstill period, late autumn sampling is suggested for detecting the entire soil seed bank, whilst late spring sampling is recommended for the examination of its persistent part. Studies looking at medium (plant community level) and fine scales (patch level) have demonstrated that soil seed bank distributions show horizontal aggregation for most of the cases and for most of the species. Seed dispersal processes which are among major factors responsible for such aggregated patterns are also discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Assini, S. 2001. Seed-bank and dynamics of a Polygonum hy-dropiper L. community along Po river (Central-West Italy). Plant Biosyst. 135: 223–232.
Bakker, J. P., Poschlod, P., Strykstra, R. J., Bekker, R. M. and Thompson, K. 1996a. Seed banks and seed dispersal: important topics in restoration ecology. Acta Bot. Neerl. 45: 461–490.
Bakker, J. P., Bakker, E. S., Rosén, E., Verweij, G. L. and Bekker, R. M. 1996b. Soil seed bank composition along a gradient from dry alvar grassland to Juniperus shrubland. J. Veg. Sci. 7: 165–176.
Berg, R. Y. 1975. Myrmecochorous plants in Australia and their dispersal by ants. Aust. J. Bot. 23: 475–508.
Bertiller, M. B. 1998. Spatial patterns of the germinable soil seed bank in northern Patagonia. Seed Sci. Res. 8: 39–45.
Bigwood, D. W. and Inouye, D. W. 1988. Spatial pattern analysis of seed banks: an improved method and optimized sampling. Ecology 69: 497–507.
Bill, H.-C, Poschlod, P., Reich, M. and Plachter, H. 1999. Experiments and observations on seed dispersal by running water in an Alpine floodplain. Bull. of the Geobot. Inst. ETH 65: 13–28.
Boedeltje, G., Bakker, J. P., Bekker, R. M., van Groenendael, J. M. and Soesbergen, M. 2003. Plant dispersal in a lowland stream in relation to occurrence and three specific life-history traits of the species in the species pool. J. Ecol. 91: 855–866.
Bossuyt, B., Heyn, M. and Hermy, M. 2002. Seed bank and vegetation composition of forest stands of varying age in central Belgium: consequences for regeneration of ancient forest vegetation. Plant Ecol. 162: 33–48.
Caballero, I., Olano, J. M., Loidi, J. and Escudero, A. 2003. Seed bank structure along a semi-arid gypsum gradient in Central Spain. J. Arid Environ. 55: 287–299.
Champness, S. S. 1949. Notes on the buried seed populations beneath different types of ley in their seedling year. J. Ecol. 37: 51–56.
Cheplick, G. P. 1987. The ecology of amphicarpic plants. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2: 97–101.
Coffin, D. P. and Lauenroth, W. K. 1989. Spatial and temporal variation in the seed bank of a semiarid grassland. Am. J. Bot. 76: 53–58.
Csontos, P. 1998. The applicability of a seed ecological database (SEED) in botanical research. Seed Sci. Res. 8: 47–51.
Csontos, P. and Tamás, J. 2003. Comparisons of soil seed bank classification systems. SeedSci. Res. 13: 101–111.
Csontos, P., Horánszky, A., Kalapos, T., and Lökös, L. 1996. Seed bank of Pinus nigra plantations in dolomite rock grassland habitats, and its implications for restoring grassland vegetation. Annls hist.-nat. Mus. natn. hung. 88: 69–77.
Czarnecka, J. 2004. Microspatial structure of the seed bank of xerothermic grassland - intracommunity differentiation. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 73: 155–164.
Davies, A. and Waite, S. 1998. The persistence of calcareous grassland species in the soil seed bank under developing and established scrub. Plant Ecol. 136: 27–39.
Dean, W. R., Milton, S. J. and Siegfried, W. R. 1990. Dispersal of seeds as nest material by birds in semiarid karoo shrubland. Ecology 71: 1299–1306.
Díaz-Villa, M. D., Marañón, T., Arroyo, J. and Garrido, B. 2003. Soil seed bank and floristic diversity in a forest-grassland mosaic in southern Spain. J. Veg. Sci. 14: 701–709.
Dostál, P. 2005. Effect of three mound-building ant species on the formation of soil seed bank in mountain grassland. Flora 200: 148–158.
Eriksson, O. 1995. Seedling recruitment in deciduous forest herbs: the effects of litter, soil chemistry and seed bank. Flora 190: 65–70.
Falińska, K. 1998. Long-term changes in size and composition of seed bank during succession: from meadow to forest. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 67: 301–311.
Fekete, R. 1975. Comparative weed-investigations in traditionally-cultivated and chemically-treated wheat and maize crops. IV. Study of the weed-seed contents of the soils of maize crops. Acta Biol. Szeged 21: 9–20.
Forcella, F. 1984. A species-area curve for buried viable seeds. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 35: 645–652.
Fragoso, J. M. V. 1997. Tapir-generated seed shadows: scale dependent patchiness in the Amazon rain forest. J. Ecol. 85: 519–529.
Graham, D. J. and Hutchings, M. J. 1988. Estimation of the seed bank of a chalk grassland ley established on former arable land. J. Appl. Ecol. 25: 241–252.
Grandin, U. 2001. Short-term and long-term variation in seed bank /vegetation relations along an environmental and successional gradient. Ecography 24: 731–741.
Gross, K. 1990. A comparison of methods for estimating seed number in the soil. J. Ecol. 78: 1079–1093.
Harper, J. L. 1977. Population Biology of Plants. Academic Press, London, 892 pp.
Hatt, M. 1991. Samenvorrat von zwei alpinen Böden. (Seed pool of two alpine soils.) Ber. Geobot. Institut ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 57: 41–71.
Hayashi, I. and Numata, M. 1964. Ecological studies on the buriedseed population in the soil from the viewpoint of plant succession III - A mature stand of Pinus thunbergii. Physiol. and Ecol. 12: 185–190.
Hayashi, I. and Numata, M. 1971. Viable buried-seed population in the Miscanthus- and Zoysia type grasslands in Japan - Ecological studies on the buried-seed population in the soil related to plant succession VI. Jap. J. Ecol. 20: 243–252.
Howe, H. F. 1986. Seed dispersal by fruit-eating birds and mammals. In: Murray, D. R. (ed.), Seed Dispersal. Academic Press, New York, pp. 123–189.
Howe, H. F. 1989. Scatter- and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: hypothesis and implications. Oecologia 79: 417–426.
Howe, H. F. and Smallwood, J. 1982. Ecology of seed dispersal. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 13: 201–228.
Hunyadi, K. and Pathy, Z. 1976. Keszthely környéki rétláp talajok gyommagfertozöttsége. (Weed seed infestation level in the marshland soils of the Keszthely area.) Növényvédelem 12: 391–396. (in Hungarian with English, German and Russian summaries)
Jankowska-Blaszczuk, M. 1998. Variability of the soil seed banks in the natural deciduous forest in the Bialowieza National Park. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 67: 313–324.
Jankowska-Blaszczuk, M. and Grubb, P. J. 1997. Soil seed banks in primary and secondary deciduous forest in Bialowieza, Poland. Seed Sci. Res. 7: 281–292.
Jefferson, R. G. and Usher, M. B. 1987. The seed bank in soils of disused chalk quarries in the Yorkshire Wolds, England: implications for conservation management. Biol. Conserv. 42: 287–302.
Jensen, K. 1998. Species composition of soil seed bank and seed rain of abandoned wet meadows and their relation to aboveground vegetation. Flora 193: 345–359.
Jensen, T. S. 1985. Seed - seed predator interactions of European beech, Fagus silvatica and forest rodents, Clethrionomys glareolus and Apodemus flavicollis. Oikos 44: 149–156.
Jensen, T. S. and Nielsen, O. F. 1986. Rodents as seed dispersers in a heath - oak wood succession. Oecologia(Berlin) 70: 214–221.
Jerling, L. 1983. Composition and viability of the seed bank along a successional gradient on a Baltic sea shore meadow. Holarctic Ecology 6: 150–156.
Jutila, H. M. 1998. Seed banks of grazed and ungrazed Baltic seashore meadows. J. Veg. Sci. 9: 395–408.
Kalamees, R. and Zobel, M. 2002. The role of the seed bank in gap regeneration in a calcareous grassland community. Ecology 83: 1017–1025.
Keeley, J. E., Ne’eman, G. and Fotheringham, C. J. 1999. Immaturity risk in a fire-dependent pine.Journal of Mediterranean Ecology 1: 41–48.
Kjellsson, G. 1992. Seed banks in Danish deciduous forests: species composition, seed influx and distribution pattern in soil. Eco-graphy 15: 86–100.
Krinke, L., Moravcova, L., Pysek, P., Jarosik, V., Pergl, J. and Perglova, I. 2005. Seed bank of an invasive alien, Heracleum man-tegazzianum, and its seasonal dynamics. Seed Sci. Res. 15: 239–248.
Lamont, B. B., Lemaitre, D. C., Cowling, R. M. and Enright, N. J. 1991. Canopy seed storage in woody-plants. Botanical Review 57: 277–317.
Leck, M. A. and Simpson, R. L. 1987. Seed bank of a freshwater tidal wetland: turnover and relationship to vegetation change. Am. J. Bot. 74: 360–370.
Lisci, M. and Pacini, E. 1997. Fruit and seed structural characteristics and seed dispersal in Mercurialis annua L. (Euphor-biaceae). Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 66: 379–386.
Livingston, R. B. and Allessio, M. L. 1968. Buried viable seed in successional field and forest stands, Harward Forest, Massachusetts. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 95: 58–69.
Malo, J. E. and Suarez, F. 1995. Herbivorous mammals as seed dispersers in a Mediterranean dehesa. Oecologia 104: 246–255.
Malo, J. E., Jimenez, B. and Suarez, F. 2000. Herbivore dunging and endozoochorous seed deposition in a Mediterranean dehesa. J. Range Management 53: 322–328.
Máthé, I. and Précsényi, I. 1971. Újabb adatok az újszentmargitai IBP mintaterület szántóföldjének primér produkciójához. [Further data to the primary production of the arable lands of the IBP study site at Újszentmargita.] Agrártud. Közlem. 30: 451–463. (in Hungarian)
Matlack, G. R. and Good, R. E. 1990. Spatial heterogeneity in the soil seed bank of a mature Coastal Plain forest. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 117: 143–152.
Matus, G., Verhagen, R., Bekker, R. M. and Grootjans, A. P. 2003. Restoration of the Cirsio dissecti-Molinietum in The Netherlands: Can we rely on soil seed banks? Appl. Veg. Sci. 6: 73–84.
Matus, G., Papp, M. and Tóthmérész, B. 2005. Impact of management on vegetation dynamics and seed bank formation of inland dune grassland in Hungary. Flora 200: 296–306.
Mayer, V., Ölzant, S. and Fischer, R. C. 2005. Myrmecochorous seed dispersal in Temperate regions. In: Forget, P.-M., Lambert, J. E., Hulme, P. E. and Vander Wall, S. B. (eds), Seed Fate: Predation, Dispersal and Seedling Establishment. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 175–195.
McGraw,J.B. 1987. Seed-bank properties ofanAppalachianSphagnum bog and a model of the depth distribution of viable seeds. Can. J. Bot. 65: 2028–2035.
Milberg, P. 1992. Seed bank in a 35-year-old experiment with different treatments of a semi-natural grassland. Acta Oecol. 13: 743–752.
Milberg, P. and Hansson, M. L. 1994. Soil seed bank and species turnover in a limestone grassland. J. Veg. Sci. 5: 35–42.
Milberg, P. and Persson, T. S. 1994. Soil seed bank and species recruitment in road verge grassland vegetation. Ann. Bot. Fennici 31: 155–162.
Miller, G. R. and Cummins, R. P. 2003. Soil seed banks of woodland, heathland, grassland, mire and montane communities, Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Plant Ecol. 168: 255–266.
Nakagoshi, N. 1984a. Ecological studies on the buried viable seed population in soil of the forest communities in Miyajima Island, Southwestern Japan II. Hikobia 9: 109–122.
Nakagoshi, N. 1984b. Buried viable seed populations in forest communities on the Hiba Mountains, Southwestern Japan. J. Sci. Hiroshima Univ., Ser. B, Div. 2, 19: 1–56.
Nakagoshi, N. 1996. The trend of soil seed banks in climax forests in Japan. Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Ökologie, Band 25, Festschrift für Reinhard Bornkamm. Freising Weihen-stephan, 301–308.
Nakanishi, H. 1983. Drift fruits and seeds on the coast of the Yaeyama Islands, southernmost of Japan. J. Phytogeogr. Taxon. 31: 22–30.
Nakanishi, H. 1987. Stranded tropical seeds and fruits on the coast of the Japanese Mainland. Micronesica 20: 201–213.
Nakanishi, H. 1988. Dispersal ecology of the maritime plants in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Ecol. Res. 3: 163–173.
Narita, K. and Wada, N. 1998. Ecological significance of the aerial seed pool of desert lignified annual, Blepharis sindica (Acan-thaceae). Plant Ecol. 135: 177–184.
Ness, J. H., Bronstein, J. L., Andersen, A. N. and Holland, J. N. 2004. Ant body size predicts dispersal distance of ant-adapted seeds: Implications of small-ant invasions. Ecology 85: 1244–1250.
Olano, J. M., Cabarello, I., Laskurain, N. A., Loidi, J. and Escudero, A. 2002. Seed bank spatial pattern in a temperate secondary forest. J. Veg. Sci. 13: 775–784.
Onaindia, M. and Amezaga, I. 2000. Seasonal variation in the seed banks of native woodland and coniferous plantations in Northern Spain. Forest Ecol. Manag. 126: 163–172.
Ortiz, P. L., Arista, M. and Talavera, S. 1995. Germination ecology of Ceratonia siliqua L. (Caesalpiniaceae), a Mediterranean tree. Flora 190: 89–95.
Pannell, J. R. and Myerscough, P. J. 1993. Canopy-stored seed banks of Allocasuarina distyla and A. nana in relation to time since fire. Aust. J. Bot. 41: 1–9.
Panufnik-Mêdrzycka, D. and Kwiatkowska-Faliriska, A. J. 2001. The realized and potential soil seed bank in the Potentillo albae-Quercetum community in the Bialowieza primeval forest. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 70: 133–143.
Pausas, J. G., Bradstock, R. A., Keith, D. A. and Keeley, J. E. 2004. Plant functional traits in relation to fire in crown-fire ecosys-tems. Ecology 85: 1085–1100.
Pellissier, V., Gallet, S. and Roze, F. 2004. Comparison of the vegetation and seed bank on hedge banks of different ages in Brittany, France. Environmental Management 34: 52–61.
Roberts, H. A. 1981. Seed banks in soils. Adv. Appl. Biol. 6: 1–55.
Robinson, E. L. and Kust, C. A. 1962. Distribution of witchweed seeds in the soil. Weeds 10: 335.
Russi, L., Cocks, P. S. and Roberts, E. H. 1992. Seed bank dynamics in a Mediterranean grassland. J. Appl. Ecol. 29: 763–771.
Ryser, P. and Gigon, A. 1985. Influence of seed bank and small mammals on the floristic composition of limestone grassland (Mesobrometum) in Northern Switzerland. Ber. Geobot. Inst. ETH, Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 52: 41–52.
Sendtko, A. 1999. Die Xerothermvegetation brachgefallener Rebflächen im Raum Tokaj (Nordost-Ungarn) – pflanzensoz-iologische und populationsbiologische Untersuchungen zur Sukzession. Phytocoenologia 29: 345–448.
Symonides, E. 1978. Numbers, distribution and specific composition of diaspores in the soil of the plant association Spergulo-Co-rynephoretum. Ekol. Pol. 26: 111–122.
Symonides, E. 1986. Seed bank in old-field successional ecosystems. Ekol. Pol. 34: 3–29.
Thompson, K. 1986. Small-scale heterogeneity in the seed bank of an acidic grassland. J. Ecol. 74: 733–738.
Thompson, K. 1993. Seed persistence in soil. In: Hendry, G. A. F. and Grime, J. P. (eds.), Methods in Comparative Plant Ecology. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 199–202.
Thompson, K. and Grime, J. P. 1979. Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. J. Ecol. 67: 893–921.
Thompson, K., Band, S. R. and Hodgson, J. G. 1993. Seed size and shape predict persistence in soil. Funct. Ecol. 7: 236–241.
Thompson, K., Bakker, J. P. and Bekker, R. M. 1997. The Soil Seed Banks of North West Europe: Methodology, Density and Longevity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Thompson, K., Ceriani, R. M., Bakker, J. P. and Bekker, R. M. 2003. Are seed dormancy and persistence in soil related? Seed Sci. Res. 13: 97–100.
Thompson, K., Colsell, S., Carpenter, J., Smith, R. M., Warren, P. H. and Gaston, K. J. 2005. Urban domestic gardens (VII): a preliminary survey of soil seed banks. Seed Sci. Res. 15: 133–141.
Tuesca, D., Nisensohn, L., Boccanelli, S., Torres, P. and Lewis, J. P. 2004. Weed seedbank and vegetation dynamics in summer crops under two contrasting tillage regimes. Community Ecology 5: 247–255.
van der Valk, A. G. and Verhoeven, J. T. A. 1988. Potential role of seed banks and understory species in restoring quaking fens from floating forests. Vegetatio 76: 3–13.
Vander Wall, S. B. 2002. Secondary dispersal of Jeffrey pine seeds by rodent scatter-hoarders: the roles of pilfering, recaching and a variable environment. In: Levey, D. J., Silva, W. R. and Galetti, M. (eds), Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. CABI Publishing, New York, pp. 193–208.
Virágh, K. and Gerencsér, L. 1988. Seed bank in the soil and its role during secondary successions induced by some herbicides in a perennial grassland community. Acta Bot. Hung. 34: 77–121.
Warr, S. J., Thompson, K. and Kent, M. 1993. Seed banks as a neglected area of biogeographic research: a review of literature and sampling techniques. Progr. Phys. Geog. 17: 329–347.
Warr, S. J., Kent, M. and Thompson, K. 1994. Seed bank composition and variability in five woodlands in south-west England. J. Biogeogr. 21: 151–168.
Welling, C. H. and Becker, R. L. 1990. Seed bank dynamics of Lythrum salicaria L.: implications for control of this species in North America. Aquat. Bot. 38: 303–309.
Zammit, C. and Westoby, M. 1987. Seedling recruitment strategies in obligate-seeding and resprouting Banksia shrubs. Ecology 68: 1984–1992.
Zammit, C. and Westoby, M. 1988. Pre-dispersal seed losses, and the survival of seeds and seedlings of two serotinous Banksia shrubs in burnt and unburnt heath. J. Ecol. 76: 200–214.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Csontos, P. Seed banks: ecological definitions and sampling considerations. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 8, 75–85 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.8.2007.1.10
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.8.2007.1.10