Gl. Tierney et Tj. Fahey, Soil seed bank dynamics of pin cherry in a northern hardwood forest, New Hampshire, USA, CAN J FORES, 28(10), 1998, pp. 1471-1480
Citations number
25
Categorie Soggetti
Plant Sciences
Journal title
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH-REVUE CANADIENNE DE RECHERCHE FORESTIERE
The soil seed bank of the low-value, pioneer tree pin cherry (Prunus pensyl
vanica L.f.) appears to increase markedly after multiple, large-scale distu
rbance events, which may result in interference with the growth of high-val
ue species. Seven northern hardwood forest sites of varying age and disturb
ance history in the White Mountains of New Hampshire were examined to quant
ify the patterns of accumulation and depletion of the pin cherry soil seed
bank. The pin cherry seed bank accumulated in a predictable fashion based o
n pin cherry stem abundance. High- and low-density populations accumulated
approximately 440 and 1900 viable seeds per pin cherry stem, respectively.
Depletion of the seed bank appeared to be negligible in stands between age
40 and 60, and moderate (30% loss over 20 years) in stands between age 95 a
nd 115. Short (e.g., 60-year) harvest rotation times may triple the size of
the pin cherry soil seed bank, causing proliferation of this species with
consequences for ecosystem and community dynamics, whereas longer rotation
times of 120 years may allow enough depletion of the seed bank to stabilize
population sizes.