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2018 Vol.5, Issue 3 Preview Page

Original Article

The Relationship between the Soil Seed Bank and Above-ground Vegetation in a Sandy Floodplain, South Korea
Hyung-Jin Cho1
,
Seung-Nam Jin2
,
Hyohyemi Lee3
,
Rob H. Marrs4
,
Kang-Hyun Cho5*
,
,
,
,
1Researcher, ECOnGEO Laboratory, Incheon 22170, Korea
2Researcher, Department of Biological Sciences, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
3Researcher, Environmental Impact Assessment Team, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon 33657, Korea
4Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
5Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
* Corresponding Author
30 September 2018. pp. 145-155
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Abstract

In a monsoonal climate, the soil seed bank can play an important role in plant regeneration after the severe annual floods that disturb above-ground vegetation within the riparian zone. To investigate the relationship between the soil seed bank and vegetation, we measured the species composition of the soil seed bank and the extant above-ground vegetation in six major plant communities (Artemisia selengensis, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, Persicaria nodosa, Phalaris arundinacea, Phragmites japonica, and Rorippa palustris) in the Cheongmicheon Stream, Korea. A total of 21 species germinated from the floodplain soil seed banks. The most diverse seed bank (21 species) was found in the A. selengensis community, wheres the lowest number of species was found in the R. palustris community (2 species). Most soil seed banks were composed of annuals (90%), exceptions being Rumex crispus and Artemisia princeps, which are perennial ruderals. The similarity of species composition between the soil seed bank and above-ground vegetation was low with Sorensen’s similarity indices averaging 29% (range 12 - 42%). Crucially, existing dominant perennials of the extant vegetation including A. selengensis, M. sacchariflorus, P. japonica and P. arundinacea were absent from the soil seed bank. In conclusion, the soil seed banks of the floodplains of the Cheongmicheon Stream were mainly composed of viable seeds of ruderal plants, which could germinate rapidly after severe flood disturbance. The soil seed bank may, therefore, be useful for the restoration of the early succession stages of riparian vegetation after flood disturbances.

Keywords
Flood disturbance
Multivariate analysis
Riparian vegetation
Sorensen’s similarity coefficient

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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Ecology and Infrastructure Engineering
  • Publisher(Ko) :응용생태공학회
  • Journal Title :Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
  • Journal Title(Ko) :응용생태공학회 논문집
  • Volume : 5
  • No :3
  • Pages :145-155
  • Received Date : 2018-07-09
  • Revised Date : 2018-08-17
  • Accepted Date : 2018-08-22
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.17820/eri.2018.5.3.145
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