Seed dormancy and its impact on the soil seed bank for wild Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) populations were studied in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Five populations were selected in contrasted environments. In all cases, distribution of seeds in the soil was limited to 3 cm depth. No innate dormancy was observed but combination of hard seed coat and hilum opening controlled by environmental...

The native bracken (Pteridium arachnoideum) often occurs in mono-specific stands in the Brazilian Cerrado, and this dominance can impact on both the above-ground vegetation and soil seed bank. This study investigated how invasion by this species over a 20-year period changed the seed bank and the relationship between the seed bank and litter mass. We extracted soil samples from three replicated...

Important roles for biotic agents in integrated weed management include preventing seed production and weed emergence from the seed bank. Seed-attacking microorganisms have been described for a limited number of economically important weeds and serve as examples illustrating the potential for reducing weed seed production. Innundative releases of seed-feeding insects have also successfully redu...

Calligonum mongolicum is a successful pioneer shrub to combat desertification, which is widely used for vegetation restoration in the desert regions of northwest China. In order to reveal the limitations to natural regeneration of C. mongolicum by asexual and sexual reproduction, following the process of sand dune stabilization, we assessed clonal shoots, seedling emergence, soil seed bank dens...

Influences on viability and germination of seeds have been studied intensively for many years, particularly for the numer-ous commercially important agricultural, ornamental, and timber species. High germinating seed lots may differ substantially in field emergence when sown at the same time in the same field, and/or may differ in performance after storage in the same environment or transport t...

Seed-caching rodents have long been seen as important actors in dispersal ecology. Here, we focus on the interactions with plants in a fire-disturbance community, specifically Arctostaphylos species (Ericaceae) in California chaparral. Although mutualistic relationships between caching rodents and plants are well studied, little is known how this type of relationship functions in a disturbance-...

The objective of the study was to characterize annual ryegrass seed population dynamics, managed for natural re-sowing, in no til systems in rotation with soybean, in different chronosequences An area was cultivated for two years with soybean, left as fallow land for the next two years and then cultivated again with soybean for the next two years. The four chronosequences represented different ...

Reforestation after a landslide facilitates competition between herbaceous plants and arborous plants. Tangible variations in grassland areas in regions susceptible to landslides can only be found within collections of trees. A landslide area in the Sule Watershed was investigated. Relative illuminance results reveal that the Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth) biomass in this landslide area in...

Eroding stream and river banks can threaten agricultural assets, riparian infrastructure, and can significantly impact the environment. There are many different approaches to stabilizing and restoring stream and river banks. Streambank Soil Bioengineering is one of the approaches that are gaining favor for being both cost effective and environmentally sensitive. The term “Streambank Soil Bioeng...