Soil Seed Bank Structure and Composition in Florida Sand Pine Scrub

Abstract

-This study characterized a soil seed bank from which and partly woody species (hereafter, herbaceous plants) may recover after fire in Florida sand pine scrub. Abundances and spatial distributions of seeds in the soil and of adult plants were quantified in three sites burned 1 or 2 yr before data collection, and in five sites unburned for at least 40 yr. Median density of germinants from soil samples was 20 seeds/M2, with 10 taxa represented. Seed bank densities were not different between recently burned and long unburned sites. Percent cover of grasses and sedges did not differ between burned and long unburned sites, but stem densities of dicotyledonous plants were lower in long unburned sites. The soil seed bank in sand pine scrub has three components, based on patterns of seed and conspecific adult occurrence in samples-monocotyledonous perennials with both seeds and adults present, weedy species with only seeds present, and species with poor seed dispersal with only seeds present.