Local seed rain and seed bank in a species-rich grassland: effects of plant abundance and seed size

Anna Jakobsson, Ove Eriksson, Hans Henrik Bruun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this study, we examined the relationship between seed size, seed rain, and seed bank in a species-rich perennial grassland in Sweden. The seed rain was monitored by 100 seed traps placed in a 10 m x 10 m area for 1 year. The seed bank was sampled by taking 100 soil samples, each in close vicinity to a seed trap. Abundance of reproductive ramets in the area was estimated, since this is likely to affect the proportion of hit seed traps and seed bank samples. When abundance of reproductive ramets was accounted for, we found a negative relationship between seed size and proportion of hit seed bank samples, but we found no relationship between seed size and proportion of hit seed traps. We found strong positive relationships between the abundance of reproductive ramets and proportion of hit seed traps and seed bank samples. We also found strong positive relationships between abundance of reproductive ramets and abundance of seeds in the seed rain and the seed bank, but no relationship between seed size and abundance of seeds in the seed rain or the seed bank. We discuss these results in the context of theory suggesting that large-seeded and small-seeded species may coexist because of a trade-off between colonization and competitive abilities, where smaller-seeded species are able to reach more sites than seeds of larger-seeded species, because they are more numerous and (or) better dispersed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1870-1881
JournalCanadian Journal of Botany
Volume84
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006

Bibliographical note

The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.
The record was previously connected to the following departments: Plant Ecology and Systematics (Closed 2011) (011004000)

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Ecology

Free keywords

  • seed mass
  • regeneration
  • game theory
  • seed bank
  • seed rain
  • species-rich grassland

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