No abstract

Germination response to fluctuating temperatures is a mechanism by which seeds detect gaps in vegetation canopies and depth of burial in soil, and it is very important for plants. Thus, studies on the effect of fluctuating temperature on germination at the community level are valuable for understanding community structure and biodiversity maintenance. We determined the effects of two alternating temperatures (5/25°C and 10/20°C) and one constant temperature (15°C) on seed germination of 445 species in a grassland community on the eastern Tibet Plateau. Seed mass was determined for each species, and data on habitat, type of life cycle, altitudinal distribution and functional group (graminoids or forbs) were obtained from the literature. Taking all species into account, alternating temperatures increased germination percentages regardless of amplitude. Overall, species growing in disturbed ground showed a significant germination response to temperature fluctuation, but those living in Alpine/subalpine meadow, forest margin /scrub, marshland and dry sunny slope habitats did not. Species distributed only at high elevations (>2000m) did not show a significant germination response to temperature fluctuation, whereas those occurring at both high and low elevations had a significant positive response. Germination of annuals/biennials was significantly promoted by 5/25°C, but not by 10/20°C, whereas germination of perennials was significantly promoted by both 5/25°C and 10/20°C. Small-seeded species were more likely than large-seeded species to respond positively to fluctuating temperatures. Germination of forbs had a positive response to temperature fluctuation, but germination of graminoids did not. Regeneration ability by seeds for about 36% of the species studied in the grassland can be increased by temperature fluctuation. The differential response among species to alternating vs. constant temperatures helps maintain community structure and biodiversity. A positive germination response to temperature fluctuation can partly explain why there are more forbs in degraded meadows.

We studied seasonal dynamics of seed banks along an altitudinal gradient in three alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as seed size distribution relative to depth. Seed bank density and species richness decreased significantly with altitude increase in both April and July. The highest elevations showed highest seed bank depletion. Although species composition of the vegetation changed along the altitudinal gradient, seed bank composition was almost unvaried from April to July. This indicated that seed bank density has an obvious seasonal change but composition does not. We found a low degree of similarity between the species composition of vegetation and of the seed bank along the whole gradient, and this similarity decreased with altitude increase. These suggest that the role of the seed bank decreased gradually with altitude increase. The hypothesis that a species seed bank strategy is an inherited trait was not confirmed because for some species seed bank strategy changed with altitude. We found that persistent seed banks were the most frequent strategy at all three altitudes. Species with persistent seeds tended to have smaller seeds than those with transient seeds only in highest altitude, while the other two altitudes did not show difference. There was no trend in seed size distribution with altitudes and soil depths.

The primary goal was to address several questions with regard to how soil seed banks change in a successional series. How does the composition of the viable seed bank change, and how does the relationship of the soil seed bank and vegetation change with succession? Can the seed bank be regarded as a potential as a source of seeds for wetland restoration? We collected soil seed bank samples and sampled the vegetation in four different successional stages and used the NMDS (nonmetric multidimensional scaling) to evaluate the relationship of species composition between the seed banks and vegetation. The difference of seed density and species richness in different habitats and soil depths also was compared. Viable seeds of half (37) the species in the early-successional stage were found in all the successional stages. Similarity between seed bank and vegetation increased with succession. Both seed density and species richness in the seed bank increased with successional age and decreased with soil depth. The majority of species from the earlysuccessional stage produced long-lived seeds. Seed density and species richness increased with succession, mainly as a result of increasing seed production, and hypotheses predicting decreasing density of buried seeds and species richness were not confirmed. Seed banks play a minor role in contributing to the regeneration of vegetation, and managers cannot rely on soil-stored seed banks for restoration of wetlands.

Very few studies have examined whether the impacts of grazing disturbance on soil seed banks occur directly or indirectly through aboveground vegetation and soil properties. The potential role of the seed bank in alpine wetland restoration is also unknown. We used SEM (structural equation modeling) to explore the direct effect of grazing disturbance on the seed bank and the indirect effect through aboveground vegetation and soil properties. We also studied the role of the seed bank on the restoration potential in wetlands with various grazing intensities: low (fenced, winter grazed only), medium (seasonally grazed), and high (whole-year grazed). For the seed bank, species richness and density per plot showed no difference among grazing intensities for each depth (0-5, 5-10, 10-15 cm) and for the whole depth (0-15 cm) in spring and summer. There was no direct effect of grazing disturbance on seed bank richness and density both in spring and summer, and also no indirect effect on the seed bank through its direct effect on vegetation richness and abundance. Grazing disturbance indirectly increased spring seed bank density but decreased summer seed bank density through its direct effect (negative correlation) on soil moisture and total nitrogen and its indirect effect on vegetation abundance. Species composition of the vegetation changed with grazing regime, but that of the seed bank did not. An increased trend of similarity between the seed bank and aboveground vegetation with increased grazing disturbance was found in the shallow depth and in the whole depth only in spring. Although there was almost no change in seed bank size with grazing intensities, grazing disturbance increased the quantity of transient seeds but decreased persistent seeds. Persistent seeds stored in the soil could play a crucial role in vegetation regeneration and in restoration of degraded wetland ecosystems. The seed bank should be an integral part of alpine wetland restoration programs.