Abstract
Evaluation of the effects of flooding on seedling recruitment from seed banks helps in understanding vegetation regeneration in floodplains. We studied the effects of simulated flooding on richness and abundance of, and temporal variation in, seedling recruitment from the soil seed bank of a floodable savanna of the Pantanal wetland, under two conditions: 1) Post-flood = inundated for 30 days followed by irrigation; 2) Non-flooded = only irrigated. We recorded emerged seedlings biweekly for 120 days and found a total of 124 species for the two treatments, the most abundant species were annual herbs (e.g., Richardia grandiflora and Euploca procumbens) and annual graminoids (e.g., Digitaria ciliaris and Cyperus haspan). Flooding positively influenced seedling richness and abundance, while seedling emergence from the non-flooded soil was slower, but continued during all periods. The different temporal patterns between treatments showed that flooding increases the abundance of emerged seedlings and acts as a trigger for explosive recruitment shortly after water depletion.
Highlights
Flooding causes seasonal changes in the structure and floristic composition of floodplain vegetation (Junk et al 1989; Cunha & Junk 2001; Middleton 2002)
We studied the effects of simulated flooding on richness and abundance of, and temporal variation in, seedling recruitment from the soil seed bank of a floodable savanna of the Pantanal wetland, under two conditions: 1) Post-flood = inundated for 30 days followed by irrigation; 2) Non-flooded = only irrigated
Few studies on the recovery of degraded areas (Brock & of Rogers 1998; Wetzel et al 2001) and succession have focused on post-flooding recruitment from the soil seed bank, including response time and temporal variation in post-flood recruitment (Jutila 2001; Webb et al 2006); none of which have taken place in the Pantanal wetland.We aimed to learn about post-flood regeneration, in order to better understand the dynamics of the Pantanal, perhaps the largest Neotropical wetland in the world
Summary
Flooding causes seasonal changes in the structure and floristic composition of floodplain vegetation (Junk et al 1989; Cunha & Junk 2001; Middleton 2002). Cycles of flood and drought, (i.e., the temporal and spatial variation in water level) influence the availability of habitats with the conditions necessary for seedling establishment, thereby allowing the occurrence of species with different life-strategies for the various phases of the hydrological cycle (Valk 2005). Changes caused by annual and recurrent flooding can result in plant adaptations that can increase species diversity; a high level of biodiversity adapted to different conditions can be expected in floodplains (Alho & Sabino 2012; Pott & Silva 2015). Annual and perennial species can be expected in such environments, either as adults, juveniles, seeds or as other viable propagules, thereby maintaining diversity (Valk 1981).
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