The bud banks in the typical steppe communities with different disturbance regimes

Abstract

To understand the effects of different disturbance regimes on the bud bank demography in perennial grasslands, we conducted a demographic field investigation of the bud bank in a typical steppe on the Loess Plateau. Grazing significantly decreased and fire significantly increased bud bank density compared to fenced grasslands. For different bud bank types, grazing significantly decreased tiller bud bank density, and fire significantly increased the density of root crown buds and rhizomatous buds in relation to fenced grasslands. Tiller buds accounted for the majority of the total bud banks independently of the disturbance regimes. Our study suggests that the grasslands with a large reserve bud bank may be the most resistant to disturbance, and fencing is an effective grassland management measure to keep a large bud bank in typical steppe on the Loess Plateau.