Abstract
The aims were to examine the importance of regeneration by seeds, the
influence of plant traits and disturbances, and the role of seed-seedling
conflicts in regeneration and in the determination of vegetation structure.
The study was carried out at in a subarctic alpine area (Kilpisjärvi
69°01'N 20°50E', Finland).
Seed bank and seedling densities were high in many plant communities
(ranges 99 -1109 viable seeds/m2 and 0.2-227
seedlings/m2, respectively). Effective seedling
recruitment is reflected in vegetation as a high proportion of plants with
poor or no vegetative reproduction ability. This development may take place
in meadows and snowbeds where herbs (e.g. Gnaphalium
supinum, Sibbaldia procumbens,
Veronica alpina and Viola
biflora) are abundant. On the other hand, the low proportion of
these plants in heath vegetation reflects ineffective seedling
recruitment.
Floristic similarities between the consecutive phases in the
regeneration pathway may be low despite effective seedling recruitment.
Clonality, large and small seed sizes and appendaged diaspores limit the
movement of species from phase to phase.
Generally, disturbances facilitate effective regeneration by seeds.
Grazing promotes species with large seed banks and is therefore one reason
for high seed bank densities. Freezing and melting processes negate a
negative influence of altitude on seed bank densities in the phase of
seedlings. However, if disturbances are severe and continuous and the soil
is compact, unstable or dry, disturbances are not beneficial. The same is
true if there is a shift in the species composition of seedlings from gaps
to closed vegetation. This phenomenon occurred in a rich meadow.
Seed-seedling conflicts limit regeneration by seeds in low-herb
snowbeds and Ranunculus glacialis-Gymnomitrion
snowbeds. Vegetative reproduction and infrequent pulses of seedling
recruitment negate an influence of short-term seedling recruitment on the
spatial structure of vegetation. Extreme conditions, such as low
temperatures, instability of the soil and late snowmelt modify the
influence of factors that are important in more moderate conditions.
To conclude, all transitions limit regeneration by seeds. However,
favourable conditions (e.g. moist conditions in a meadow) partly eliminate
the obstacles against seedling emergence. Regeneration by seeds therefore
has a major impact on the dynamics and structure of vegetation. In heath
vegetation, where bare soils are dry and the moss cover is thick, large
seed banks and seed rains do not guarantee effective seedling recruitment.
The regeneration process is reduced in the early phases, and plants that reproduce primarily by seeds have a minor role in vegetation. The accumulation of seed banks is effective in these circumstances.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:oulo.fi/oai:oulu.fi:isbn951-42-6861-X |
| Date | 15 November 2002 |
| Creators | Welling, P. (Pirjo) |
| Publisher | University of Oulu |
| Source Sets | University of Oulu |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess, © University of Oulu, 2002 |
| Relation | info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/0355-3191, info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1796-220X |
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