SURVIVAL OF A LOWLAND HEATHLAND SEED BANK AFTER A 33-YEAR BURIAL

Soil samples were collected from the original land surface beneath an experimental earthwork: constructed in 1963 at Morden Bog, Dorset, Eng land, and excavated in 1996. Large numbers of seeds of Calluna vulgari s, Erica cinerea and E. tetralix germinated from the samples, but othe r species present in the original flora, including Ulex minor and seve ral grasses, were absent. The results confirm the previously-documente d longevity of Calluna and E. tetralix, and for the first time demonst rate similar longevity in E. cinerea.