Propagule banks: Potential contribution to restoration of an impounded and dewatered riparian ecosystem

Boudell, Jere A.; Stromberg, Juliet C.

doi:10.1672/07-133.1

Cited by 27 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…3c), and most of the established vegetation could be demolished by impoundment of TGD in the near future. Annual plants could possibly regenerate through the seed banks as suggested by other studies on wetlands (Smith et al 2002;Boudell and Stromberg 2008) if the seed germination and seedling establishment were not depressed by the dominant perennials or woody species. However, the regeneration from the seed banks is not feasible for most perennials and woody plants (Richardson et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Can the soil seed bank contribute to revegetation of the drawdown zone in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region?

Jiang

et al. 2010

Plant Ecol

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The drawdown zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region was assumed to be completely formed in 2009 and the water level would range from *145 m in flood season (summer) to *175 m during non-flood season (winter). The soil seed bank is an important propagule source for vegetation restoration. In order to evaluate the potential of the soil seed bank to revegetate the drawdown zone of this region, we examined the quantitative relationships between the germinable soil seed bank and the established vertical and horizontal vegetation patterns. A total of 45 soil samples at four sites was collected to examine seed bank density, species richness, and composition using the seedling-emergence method. Forty-five species (from 20 families) germinated from the soil seed bank, and the average seed density was 4578 m -2 . The seed bank was dominated by annual plants, suggesting reestablishment of some above-ground species was plausible. However, most established woody plants and perennials were absent from the seed bank indicating a low probability of reestablishment for non-annuals through the seed bank. Thus, due to low species compositional similarity to extant vegetation and the dominance of annual plants, the soil seed bank had a low potential to restore pre-dam vegetation in the drawdown zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, but its potential as a propagule source should be considered regarding the management of the drawdown zone for vegetation cover.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Can the soil seed bank contribute to revegetation of the drawdown zone in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region?

Jiang

et al. 2010

Plant Ecol

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“…Indeed, woody wetland plant species are often poorly represented in the soil seed bank and reliant on alternative means of regeneration (Middleton 2003); the potential of the soil seed bank to contribute to the restoration of herbaceous vegetation may be greater (Boudell and Stromberg 2008;O'Donnell et al 2016). Understanding the similarity of species composition between the seed bank and extant vegetation (which for wetlands can vary greatly *20-80 %), can provide insights into the role of the seed bank in vegetation dynamics at a site, and thus its potential role in restoration (Hopfensperger 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of soil seed banks of a eucalypt wetland forest to aid restoration

Greet

2016

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Soil seed banks can play an important role in the regeneration of wetland vegetation. However, their potential role in the restoration of degraded wetland forests is less certain. I surveyed the soil seed bank and extant floras of four sites across a eucalypt wetland forest of variable vegetation condition. At each site, the extant vegetation was surveyed within two 5 9 5 m 2 quadrats, each from which five composite soil seed bank samples were collected. Across the four sites, 57 (including 18 exotic) species were identified in the extant vegetation, while from the seed bank samples 6379 seedlings emerged from 80 taxa, 33 of which were exotic species. The soil seed bank was dominated by native and exotic monocots, and contained very few seeds of wetland tree or shrub species. Overall, the similarity between the extant and seed bank floras was very low (*24 %). Soil seed banks are likely to be of limited use in the restoration of degraded wetland forests, because the dominant species in such systems-woody and clonal plantsare typically absent from the soil seed bank. Wetland soil seed banks may contribute to the maintenance and diversity of understorey vegetation, however, they may also act as a source of exotic plant invasions, particularly when a wetland is degraded.

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“…Some of these are from local sources (,100 m; Levine 2003) and others are transported far (e.g., hundreds of kilometers) by water (Andersson et al 2000b, Boedeltje et al 2003. As a consequence, rivers are unique landscape elements in that they biologically (mainly through hydrochory) connect otherwise disconnected meta-populations or meta-communities (Boudell and Stromberg 2008), accelerate colonization, and possibly enhance potential diversity through transporting propagules long distances from throughout a catchment (Nilsson et al 1991b, Andersson et al 2000b). Water dispersal is a secondary dispersal mechanism for many riparian species, but deposition in water can enhance a propagule's chances of reaching a safe site for establishment through dispersing farther from parent plants (decreasing intraspecific competition; i.e., Janzen-Connell effect; Bever 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consequences of propagule dispersal and river fragmentation for riparian plant community diversity and turnover

Merritt

Nilsson

Jansson

2010

Ecological Monographs

103

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Consequences of propagule dispersal and river fragmentation for riparian plant community diversity and turnover. Abstract. The spatial distribution and temporal availability of propagules fundamentally constrain plant community development. This study experimentally tested several hypotheses about the relative roles of wind and water dispersal in colonization and development of riparian communities along rivers. Through controlling the source of propagules (dispersed by wind, water, or both) reaching newly created, bare river margin sites, we isolated the relative roles of dispersal and other factors in plant community development over five years. Replicated treatments were established at 12 sites spanning 400 km along two adjacent rivers in northern Sweden, one fragmented by a series of dams, the other free-flowing. Bare river margins receiving only water-dispersed propagules had significantly higher species richness compared to plots receiving only wind-dispersed propagules during the initial two years of colonization. Species richness increased annually throughout the study along tranquil and turbulent reaches of the free-flowing river but reached an asymptote at comparatively low richness after a single year on the impounded river. Propagule source strongly influenced species richness during the initial establishment along both rivers, with richness being significantly higher in plots receiving water-dispersed seeds. This strong treatment effect continued to be important through time along the regulated river but diminished in importance along the free-flowing river where other factors such as soil moisture, light availability, and exposure of sites to fluvial disturbance overshadowed the influence of dispersal pathway in mediating species richness. This suggests that hydrochory (plant dispersal by water) may be more important for maintenance of diversity in regulated systems where long-distance dispersal is absent or negligible, but that the rich local propagule source along free-flowing rivers supports high species richness. The number of unique species was higher in water-dispersal plots along both the regulated and free-flowing rivers. This result suggests that hydrochory may contribute to temporal variability of sites, may enhance richness over time, and may have an important role in meta-population and meta-community dynamics of plant communities through long-distance (and local) dispersal and chance colonization. Our findings provide experimental evidence that water dispersal of plant propagules influences colonization dynamics and is important for long-term community development in riparian zones.

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Propagule banks: Potential contribution to restoration of an impounded and dewatered riparian ecosystem

Cited by 27 publications

References 45 publications

Can the soil seed bank contribute to revegetation of the drawdown zone in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region?

Can the soil seed bank contribute to revegetation of the drawdown zone in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region?

The potential of soil seed banks of a eucalypt wetland forest to aid restoration

Consequences of propagule dispersal and river fragmentation for riparian plant community diversity and turnover

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