Abstract
Although exploring soil seed bank characteristics and dynamics is conducive to plant diversity protection and restoration, few investigations have been undertaken in the rocky mountainous area of North China. To address this research gap, qualitative and quantitative changes in soil seed bank characteristics over different seasons and elevations as well as potential causes for differences were examined, using data from 25 secondary forest communities in the Songshan area of Beijing, China. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to test the similarity of the composition of the seed bank and the understory vegetation during different seasons. In addition, the structural equation model (SEM) was used to explore the direct and indirect effects on seed bank density. The results indicate that abundance and species richness decreased with elevation, with seed density reaching its maximum and minimum levels in April and July at all elevation levels, respectively. In terms of species composition, the understory vegetation was significantly different from the seed bank, and the proportion of herbaceous plants species in the seed bank was higher. Soil total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium all changed with elevation, directly or indirectly affecting seed bank density. The application of seed banks present in topsoil from the rocky mountainous area of North China can be potentially used for ecological restoration. It is important, however, to consider the elevation and the season related to the removal of the topsoil to achieve optimal effects.
Highlights
The rocky mountainous area of North China is a typical, ecologically fragile area, characterized by sparse vegetation and poor soil with a high concentration of gravel [1,2]
Our results indicated that the soil total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP) and AK contents decreased as elevation increased, similar to the results of Zou et al [17]
Our results indicated that seed bank abundance was directly affected by TN in the soil, and indirectly affected by AP and AK; the soil environment has an important influence on seed bank characteristics [17,36,66]
Summary
The rocky mountainous area of North China is a typical, ecologically fragile area, characterized by sparse vegetation and poor soil with a high concentration of gravel [1,2]. This area has suffered from long-term land degradation, resulting in an urgent need for vegetation maintenance and restoration [3]. The study area, situated near the competition zone for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has a high demand for environmental protection As this area contains the main water source for the Beijing urban area, maintaining the forest ecosystem in the local and surrounding areas is, very important. Revealing the dynamic changes in soil seed bank characteristics and their affecting factors has both theoretical and practical applications
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