Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29174
Title: Response of the soil seed-bank of Cumberland Plain Woodland to heating
Contributor(s): Hill, Sarah J  (author)orcid ; French, Kristine (author)
Publication Date: 2003-02
DOI: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2003.01232.x
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29174
Abstract: Soil was investigated in a Cumberland Plain Woodland community to determine the presence of a soil seed‐bank and whether species richness and abundance of plants germinating from it were affected by heating such as that experienced in a fire. Soil samples were taken from the Holsworthy Military Area, in the south-eastern region of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia, and one of four treatments was applied; soil was heated to 80°C, 40°C, unheated or unheated with litter not removed. Sixty‐eight species, representing 26 families including 11 exotic and 57 native species germinated from the soil. Herbs and grasses dominated and were in similar proportions to those surveyed in the above‐ground vegetation, suggesting that the soil seed‐bank reflected the current structure of the vegetation, although species composition differed. Species responded differently to heating. The seeds of some species germinated when heated at a higher temperature (80°C), particularly those from the family Fabaceae, whereas other species were more common in unheated or lightly heated samples (40°C). This suggests that fire is likely to change the species composition of the above‐ground vegetation and indicates that management must ensure that species that do not germinate when heated are maintained, as well as those species that germinate following heating. A large proportion of soil seed‐bank species showed low germination rates in the trials, and 112 above‐ground species did not germinate in the soil samples. We do not understand whether species of these two sets do not produce a soil‐stored seed‐bank or whether the seed‐bank has been depleted by past practices at Holsworthy. Further research is needed.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Austral Ecology, 28(1), p. 14-22
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 1442-9993
1442-9985
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity
050104 Landscape Ecology
060208 Terrestrial Ecology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 961310 Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas in Urban and Industrial Environments
960812 Urban and Industrial Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
960511 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Urban and Industrial Environments
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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