Germination and Establishment of Seedlings on a Glacier Foreland in the Central Alps, Austria

Abstract

Seedling recruitment and establishment were studied on the moraines of a glacier foreland in the central Alps in Austria. Permanent plots were established on moraines that had been ice-free for 25 and 40 yr. Comparisons were made between vegetated and bare-ground plots on each moraine over three growing seasons (1996-98). On half of the plots seeds of glacier foreland species were sown and their germination rates followed. Wide annual fluctuations in seedling recruitment were noted over the 3 study years. In the numbers of seedlings no significant differences between the sites were noted. Species composition of the seedlings showed a significant correlation with the vegetation of the sites. Seedling recruitment on the vegetated plots was greater than on the bare-ground plots. Established plants and stones represented safe sites for seedling recruitment. On the older moraine established plants had a negative effect on the survival of seedlings. After two winters seedling survival rates ranged from 0 to 40%. In most cases greater numbers of seedlings were found on the seeded than on the unseeded plots. The seeding experiment showed that seeds of late successional species are able to become established on younger moraines.