Relationship between the standing vegetation, soil properties and soil seed bank of an industrially degraded vegetation of Iron Smelting Factory

Abstract

This study assessed the floristic composition, soil properties and the soil seedbank of the vegetation around the Iron smelting factory. This was with a view to determining the functional role played by soil chemical composition and the seed bank in the modifications of vegetation patterns. Five 100 m × 5 m plots were selected from the study site; vegetation, soil seed bank and some soil chemical parameters were assessed. One-way Analysis of Variance and Duncan multiple range tests were employed for data analysis. The results showed that the soil samples collected were slightly basic (or neutral) with the total Nitrogen in all the five plots ranged from 0.22 to 0.33%. There was a little contribution by woody species to the floristic composition of both the standing vegetation and soil seed bank. There was very low similarity (10.6%-28.57%) between the standing vegetation and the soil seed bank species composition in the study site. The results of seedling emergence showed that herbaceous species dominated the soil seed bank compared to other life forms. Our result revealed a shift between seed-bank and vegetation composition which could be a consequence of the soil chemical properties and also as a result of different level of disturbance occurring due to the citing of industry in the area.

Seed bank dynamics and restoration of Ibodi monkey forest reserve, Southwestern Nigeria

“…The composition of seed bank may reflect the richness of species present in a particular vegetation and its surroundings (Cabin et al, 2000). Similar to the previous findings (Akinyemi and Oke 2013;Olatunji et al, 2015), the present study revealed that in all the physiognomies, seeds from herbaceous plants were the earliest seedling to emerge from the seed bank. This indicated that like many other ecosystems, the seeds of herbaceous species at Ibodi monkey forest have short periods of dormancy and therefore their seeds were the first set of seeds to meet suitable conditions for germination.…”

“…This indicated that like many other ecosystems, the seeds of herbaceous species at Ibodi monkey forest have short periods of dormancy and therefore their seeds were the first set of seeds to meet suitable conditions for germination. Olatunji et al (2015) reported that herbaceous species such as Chromolaena odorata and Euphorbia heterophylla were the first set of seedlings recorded in the first week of seedling emergence test from soil samples taken from a tropical rainforest in Nigeria. In addition, the observed differences in dominant characteristic of herbaceous species among the physiognomies may be attributed to the varying degree of canopy openings which enhances the dispersal of seeds of these herbaceous species.…”

“…When seedlings emerged, they were pulled out and the roots were rinsed into the plate to avoid unidentified seeds from being lost. During this period, soil samples were stirred as often as possible to bring any nongerminated seed within soil depth to the surface in order to increase the possibility of seeds to be exposed to light (Olatunji et al, 2015). Seedling emergence study was done with a view to determining the density and species composition of the seed bank of the study plots.…”

“…It also reflects evolutionary changes in plant communities as a consequence of changes in land use (Greene and Waters, 2001) besides serving as safeguards for genetic variability. Hence, the study on soil seed banks is very crucial in disentangling its roles in community and population dynamics, conservation as well as in understanding of basic ecological patterns and processes (Alexander et al, 2012;Vandvik et al, 2016), because seeds on germinating, form part of a future generation (Olatunji et al 2015). Nevertheless, the composition of the seed bank is most often governed by several factors such as the structure and production of the present and previous plant communities, spatial and temporal in soil seed bank, Seasonal variation as well as the longevity of the seed of each species under local biotic and abiotic conditions (López-Marinò et al, 2000).…”

Floristic and structural changes in secondary forests following agricultural disturbances: the case of Lama forest reserve in Southern Benin

“…Higher diversity, in less-disturbed vegetation, is determined by niche variability and therefore the variability of biotic and abiotic factors favorable to the development of several species (Tiokeng et al, 2015). Among the abiotic factors, soil properties affected the establishment of tree species (Olatunji et al, 2015), and it may be the case due to the vertisols (black-cotton ill drained soil) in Lama forest. In SF, our results support those of Makana and Thomas (2006) who also observed good recovery of the diversity of SF in Ituri (Democratic Republic of Congo) because of edge effects, relatively low diversity of the primary forests, and the age since abandonment.…”