Secondary fallow vegetation in parts of the Papua New Guinea lowlands is dominated by the shrub Piper aduncum L. that originates from South America. Here we report on its seed bank, growth rate and biomass accumulation. P. aduncum accounted for 69 % (408 m) of the seed bank in the forest and 53 % (1559 m) of the seed bank under fallow. About 90 % of the tree seed bank at the fallow site was dom...

Seed size and shape, measured as the variance of the three main dimensions, have been proposed as good indicators for predicting seed persistence. We tested whether these variables were robust predictors of seed persistence in the soil for 58 abundant herbaceous species, primarily annuals, in grass and scrubland of central Spain. Seed persistence was estimated from data on germinable seed banks...

BACKGROUND Management regimes for vegetation restoration of degraded grasslands can significantly affect the process of ecological succession. However, few studies have focused on variation in the soil seed bank during vegetation restoration under different management regimes, especially in saline-alkaline grassland habitats. Our aim was to provide insights into the ecological effects of grassl...

Glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth is the most troublesome pest in Arkansas cotton production. The prolific seed production, high germination rate, and rapid growth coupled with the lack of post emergence herbicide control options make this species a constant threat to cotton farmers. Sustainable control of Palmer amaranth requires careful management of seed in the soil seedbank. To emphasize...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Formation of seed banks and dormancy cycling are well known in annual species, but not in woody species. In this study it was hypothesized that the long-lived halophytic cold desert shrub Kalidium gracile has a seed bank and dormancy cycling, which help restrict germination to a favourable time for seedling survival. METHODS Fresh seeds were buried in November 2009 and exh...

Seed dispersal provides a template upon which the demographic processes of plant life cycles operate and, most importantly, seed dispersal determines the spatial distribution of genetic variation. Here, we review recent studies on seed dispersal by water (hydrochory) in species of Hibiscus to elucidate the potential ecological and evolutionary consequences of hydrochory at different spatiotempo...

1 Results from patch-occupancy metapopulation models indicate that a trade-off between competitive and colonization abilities is necessary for species to coexist in patchy environments. However, such models are often based on unrealistic ecological assumptions, such as global dispersal and no local population dynamics. 2 We develop a plant metapopulation model that allows us to sequentially rel...

to compare the effects of different weed management methods on seed bank of weeds grown in sugar beet (beta vulgaris l.), a field experiment was conducted at the agricultural research station, ferdowsi university of mashhad, iran, during 2006, 2007 and 2008. the experiment designed as a complete randomized block with three replications. the treatments including: disk+ fhenmedifham, disk+ fhenme...

The weed seed bank of a long-term tillage study in subarctic Alaska was studied at the end of 10 years of continuous spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Tillage treatments were: no-till, disked once (spring), disked twice (spring and fall), and chisel plow (fall). Soil cores were obtained from each tillage treatment and seeds were manually separated from soil after washing through sieves. Tilla...

The size and composition of the seed bank of a rare species (Erica ciliaris L.) was analysed. E. ciliaris hybridizes with a common relative in southern England (Erica tetralix). The seed banks of these co-occurring species were measured at a number of sites with a range of vegetation types and different management histories. Additional sets of samples were taken from forestry plantations on for...