Soil seed bank dynamics of pin cherry in a northern hardwood forest, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

Abstract

The soil seed bank of the low-value, pioneer tree pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.f.) appears to increase markedly after multiple, large-scale disturbance events, which may result in interference with the growth of high-value species. Seven northern hardwood forest sites of varying age and disturbance history in the White Mountains of New Hampshire were examined to quantify the patterns of accumulation and depletion of the pin cherry soil seed bank. The pin cherry seed bank accumulated in a predictable fashion based on pin cherry stem abundance. High- and low-density populations accumulated approximately 440 and 1900 viable seeds per pin cherry stem, respectively. Depletion of the seed bank appeared to be negligible in stands between age 40 and 60, and moderate (30% loss over 20 years) in stands between age 95 and 115. Short (e.g., 60-year) harvest rotation times may triple the size of the pin cherry soil seed bank, causing proliferation of this species with consequences for ecosystem and community dynamics, whereas longer rotation times of 120 years may allow enough depletion of the seed bank to stabilize population sizes.