The White Stork as an Engineering Species and Seed Dispersal Vector when Nesting in Poland

Abstract

The white stork can affect plant population and community dynamics and structure in an agricultural landscape. It is a vector transporting large numbers of seeds along with nest material, and it is an ecosystem engineer which builds nests that function as specific habitats for plants. The following questions were asked: (i) What is the structure of the seed pool in the nest material? (ii) Can nests be treated as a habitat enabling plants to complete their life cycle? (iii) What is the probability that seeds produced in the nests reach suitable habitats in the nests’ closest vicinity? Seed pools of ten whitestork nests were analysed using the seedling germination method. The average number of seedlings detected in the nest material was 9937 per one nest (870 per 10 000 g of dry weight); they belonged to 97 taxa. Majority of the species present in the nests created persistent seed banks (62.5%); 62.2% of the seedlings represented annual species. Significantly higher percentage of weeds and significantly low...