Abstract
The natural regeneration of disturbed forest sites is becoming increasingly important due to climate change. Following disturbance events affecting large areas seed trees are often absent from the site, and regeneration solely by means of seed rain may not be successful. In these situations, soil seed banks are an important driver of the regeneration and reforestation of forest sites. The aim of the study was to determine the birch seed density in the soil of birch stands, spruce–birch stands and spruce stands dependent upon the number of seed trees (stands) and upon varying degrees of ground cover using the ‘seedling emergence method.’ The study revealed a significant link between the quantity of germinated birch seedlings in soil samples and the presence of seed sources. Seedling densities of birch in the different stand categories reached 2644–6414 seedlings per m2 [n m−2] in birch stands, 392–759 n m−2 in spruce–birch stands and 25–122 n m−2 in pure spruce stands. The density of germinated birch seedlings was also negatively affected by the soil layer. In all stand types, the factors humus thickness, litter cover, moss cover and herb cover had no significant influence on the amount of birch seedlings. Successful rapid regeneration of disturbed sites by means of the birch soil seed bank is guaranteed in cases where birch stands, or at least birch seed trees, were present before the event. The influence of ground cover on the regeneration potential of birch from the soil is negligible.
Highlights
The increasing frequency of abiotic and biotic disturbance events like drought, storm, fire, snow damage and insect calamities in the forests of central Europe is resulting in the continuing emergence of disturbed areas (IPCC 2014, 2020)
The Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) results showed a significant influence of stand type (GLMM: z = − 1.953 and − 3.956, p = 0.000) on the germinated birch seedlings (Table 2)
Forest regeneration from soil seed banks becomes important in situations where stands are destroyed by large-scale disturbance events, such as strong winds or fire (Fenner 1985; Dalling et al 1998; Berger et al 2004; de Andrade et al 2014)
Summary
The increasing frequency of abiotic and biotic disturbance events like drought, storm, fire, snow damage and insect calamities in the forests of central Europe is resulting in the continuing emergence of disturbed areas (IPCC 2014, 2020). As has been evident in recent years, climate change is taking place and the abiotic and biotic risks will continue to intensify. The problems associated with regenerating the many, and occasionally large-scale, disturbed forest sites will grow. Artificial reforestation is increasingly becoming a problem due to the high financial and human resources required. Instead of planting and Communicated by Christian Ammer A rapid regeneration of disturbed forest areas can be achieved by exploiting these succession dynamics (Knocke et al 2008; Zerbe 2009)
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