Abstract

VALDES-ALAMEDA, Renata; JURADO, Enrique; FLORES, Joel  and  ESTRADA, Eduardo. Soil seed bank under isolated trees of the Tamaulipan Thorny Scrub. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2023, vol.14, n.79, pp.31-57.  Epub Oct 06, 2023. ISSN 2007-1132.  https://doi.org/10.29298/rmcf.v14i79.1344.

Studying the seed bank makes it possible to interpret the status of disturbed sites, the response to disturbance-driven changes, and the subsequent dynamics of a plant community. Heterogeneity in seed bank formation is influenced by seed dormancy, seed dispersal type, and such landscape components as topography or vegetation. The number of seeds in the soil depends, in part, on the vegetation present, however, in deforested and fragmented landscapes, isolated trees are the only potential reservoirs for vegetation regeneration. In this work, the spatial and temporal variation in abundance, density, and number of germinable seed species on the ground was explored during two years, under five common isolated tree species in open areas of the Tamaulipan Thorny Scrub. Seed bank characteristics were calculated for each isolated tree species and compared between species, seasons, and years of collection. The seed bank under the canopy of two zoochorous trees (Neltuma laevigata and Diospyros texana) was richer and denser than under the other three species (Yucca filifera, zoochorous; Parkinsonia aculeata and Vachellia farnesiana, unassisted dispersal). Also, more species and seeds germinated in Fall than in Spring, and more herbaceous than arboreal species were recorded.

Keywords : Diospyros texana Scheele; Neltuma laevigata (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Britton & Rose; regeneration; richness; dispersal syndrome; zoochory.

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