Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential
Due to the threats posed by climate change and landscape alteration, there is an increasing need to better understand using seed banks of continental grasslands as a possible aid to conservation and restoration. Here, the soil seed bank of a wet grassland type, an ecotone and a semi-dry grassland ty...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2830 |
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| author | Judit Schellenberger Péter Csontos Ádám Csorba Attila Lengyel Gábor Málnási Csizmadia Orsolya Szirmai Károly Penksza Szilárd Czóbel |
| author_facet | Judit Schellenberger Péter Csontos Ádám Csorba Attila Lengyel Gábor Málnási Csizmadia Orsolya Szirmai Károly Penksza Szilárd Czóbel |
| author_sort | Judit Schellenberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to the threats posed by climate change and landscape alteration, there is an increasing need to better understand using seed banks of continental grasslands as a possible aid to conservation and restoration. Here, the soil seed bank of a wet grassland type, an ecotone and a semi-dry grassland type, all formed along a slope in NE Hungary, were compared from the aspect of recovery potential. For this, a vegetation survey and a seedling emergence examination were performed. The seed banks of the three grassland types differed significantly in terms of density. It was significantly higher in both the wet and the ecotone grassland types than in the semi-dry one. The seed banks of the three grassland types proved to be very similar in terms of diversity. The floristic similarity between the vegetation and the seed banks was much higher in both the wet and the ecotone grassland types than in the semi-dry one. Most of the abundant species of the vegetation had transient seed banks, but more of the characteristic species of the wet and the ecotone grassland types maintained dense and/or persistent seed banks than those of the semi-dry one. In the case of degradation, a complete recovery is not ensured by the seed bank of either studied grassland type; however, compared to that of the semi-dry grassland, the wet grassland’s seed bank better supports an increase in diversity within a limited period. In the case of restoration, within five years after destruction, it could be more rewarding to deal with wet grassland types prior to dry ones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:32:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c9bd5a93cfc41d7a0797aa85f39dc9d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:32:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c9bd5a93cfc41d7a0797aa85f39dc9d2023-11-24T07:26:18ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-11-011211283010.3390/agronomy12112830Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery PotentialJudit Schellenberger0Péter Csontos1Ádám Csorba2Attila Lengyel3Gábor Málnási Csizmadia4Orsolya Szirmai5Károly Penksza6Szilárd Czóbel7Institute for Soil Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Research, Herman Ottó út 15, H-1022 Budapest, HungaryInstitute for Soil Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Research, Herman Ottó út 15, H-1022 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Soil Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly utca 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2–4, H-2163 Vácrátót, HungaryNational Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation, Külsőmező 15, H-2766 Tápiószele, HungaryInstitute of Animal Sciences and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Szeged, Andrássy út 15, H-6800 Hódmezővásárhely, HungaryDepartment of Botany, Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly utca 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryInstitute of Plant Sciences and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Szeged, Andrássy út 15, H-6800 Hódmezővásárhely, HungaryDue to the threats posed by climate change and landscape alteration, there is an increasing need to better understand using seed banks of continental grasslands as a possible aid to conservation and restoration. Here, the soil seed bank of a wet grassland type, an ecotone and a semi-dry grassland type, all formed along a slope in NE Hungary, were compared from the aspect of recovery potential. For this, a vegetation survey and a seedling emergence examination were performed. The seed banks of the three grassland types differed significantly in terms of density. It was significantly higher in both the wet and the ecotone grassland types than in the semi-dry one. The seed banks of the three grassland types proved to be very similar in terms of diversity. The floristic similarity between the vegetation and the seed banks was much higher in both the wet and the ecotone grassland types than in the semi-dry one. Most of the abundant species of the vegetation had transient seed banks, but more of the characteristic species of the wet and the ecotone grassland types maintained dense and/or persistent seed banks than those of the semi-dry one. In the case of degradation, a complete recovery is not ensured by the seed bank of either studied grassland type; however, compared to that of the semi-dry grassland, the wet grassland’s seed bank better supports an increase in diversity within a limited period. In the case of restoration, within five years after destruction, it could be more rewarding to deal with wet grassland types prior to dry ones.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2830meadowwetland<i>Carex</i>persistenceresilienceclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Judit Schellenberger Péter Csontos Ádám Csorba Attila Lengyel Gábor Málnási Csizmadia Orsolya Szirmai Károly Penksza Szilárd Czóbel Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential Agronomy meadow wetland <i>Carex</i> persistence resilience climate change |
| title | Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential |
| title_full | Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential |
| title_fullStr | Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential |
| title_short | Soil Seed Banks of Continental Grasslands with Different Water Regimes—A Comparative Study from the Aspect of Recovery Potential |
| title_sort | soil seed banks of continental grasslands with different water regimes a comparative study from the aspect of recovery potential |
| topic | meadow wetland <i>Carex</i> persistence resilience climate change |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2830 |
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