Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-lrf7s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-29T06:43:47.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spatial patterns of the germinable soil seed bank in northern Patagonia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Mónica B. Bertiller
Mónica B. Bertiller*
Affiliation:
Centra Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT-CONICET), Boulevard Brown s/n, 9120 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
*
*Fax +54–965–51 543 E-mail bertil@cenpat.edu.ar
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The spatial variation of the soil seed bank in the steppe of Larrea divaricata and Stipa spp. was evaluated in relation to the spatial pattern of the established vegetation, over two years. Plant distribution was expected to affect the spatial pattern of the soil seed bank. It was hypothesized that patches of bare soil are seed-limited, while soil beneath the external crown of vegetation patches contains greater numbers of seeds. The soil seed bank of the steppe of Larrea divaricata and Stipa spp. displayed a patchy distribution associated with the spatial pattern of above-ground vegetation. Seed banks in areas of bare soil showed lower numbers of seeds than those beneath vegetation. The soil seed bank was dominated by annuals, both in open areas of soil and under vegetation canopies. The relative composition of the soil seed bank varied spatially. Annuals (dicots and grasses) were more abundant in grass-shrub patches (GSP) and grass patches (GP) than in incipient grass-shrub patches (IGSP) and bare soil (BS). Seeds of perennial grasses were more abundant under GP, less abundant under grass-shrub mixed canopies (IGSP and GSP) and practically absent in BS. In addition, seeds of perennial dicots were more frequent in grass-shrub mixed canopies, scarcely represented in GP and absent in BS. The concentration of seeds of perennial grasses in GP and GSP indicates that these are essential for the maintenance of the size of grass populations. Sustainable management should be focused to maintain the structure and function of these types of vegetation patches.

Keywords

plant patchinessseed distribution in soilarid ecosystems
Type
Ecology
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 1998 , pp. 39 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aguiar, M R and Sala, O E (1994) Competition, facilitation, seed distribution and the origin of patches in a Patagonian steppe. Oikos 70, 26–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, A N (1989) How important is seed predation to recruitment in stable populations of long-lived perennials? Oecologia 81, 310–315.Google Scholar
Ares, J O, Beeskow, A M, Bertiller, M B, Rostagno, C M, Irisarri, M P, Anchorena, J, Defossé, G E and Merino, C A (1990) Structural and dynamic characteristics of overgrazed grasslands of northern Patagonia. pp 149–175in Breymeyer, A (Ed.) Managed grasslands. Regional studies. Amsterdam, Elsevier.Google Scholar
Barros, V and Rivero, M (1982) Mapas de probabilidad de precipitatión de la Provincia del Chubut. Monografía Nro. 54. pp 1–12. Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina, Centra Nacional Patagónico.Google Scholar
Bertiller, M B (1996) Grazing effects on sustainable semiarid rangelands in Patagonia: the state and dynamics of the soil seed bank. Environmental Management 20, 123–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertiller, M B and Aloia, D A (1997) Seed bank strategies in Patagonian semiarid grasslands in relation to their management and conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation 6, 639–650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertiller, M B, Beeskow, A M and Coronato, F R (1991) Seasonal environmental variation and plant phenology in arid Patagonia (Argentina). Journal of Arid Environments 21, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bisigato, A and Bertiller, M B (1997) Grazing effects on the spatial patterns of vegetation in northern Patagonia. journal of Arid Environments 36, 639–653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouza, P and Del Valle, H F (1993) Micromorphological, physical, and chemical characteristics of soil crust types of the central Patagonia region, Argentina. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation 7, 355–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, J C (1993) Seed and vegetation dynamics in an alpine herb field: effects of disturbance type. Canadian Journal of Botany 71, 471–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charley, J L and West, N E (1977) Micropatterns of N mineralization activity in soils of some shrub-dominated semidesert ecosystems of Utah. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 9, 357–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffin, D P and Lauenroth, W K (1989) Spatial and temporal variation in the seed bank of a semiarid grassland. American Journal of Botany 76, 53–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Defossé, G E, Robberecht, R and Bertiller, M B (1997) Seedling dynamics of Festuca spp. in a grassland of Patagonia, Argentina, as affected by competition, microsites, and grazing. Journal of Range Management 50, 73–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellner, S and Shmida, A (1981) Why are adaptations for long-range seed dispersal rare in desert plants? Oecologia 51, 133–144.Google Scholar
Eriksson, O and Ehrlén, J (1992) Seed and microsite limitation of recruitment in plant populations. Oecologia 91, 360–364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garner, W and Steinberger, Y (1989) A proposed mechanism for the formation of ‘Fertile Islands’ in the desert ecosystem. Journal of Arid Environments 16, 257–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegde, S G, Lokesha, R and Ganeshaiah, K N (1991) Seed size distribution in plants: an explanation based on fractal geometry. Oikos 62, 100–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiménez, H E and Armesto, J J (1992) Importance of the soil seed bank of disturbed sites in Chilean matorral in early secondary succession. Journal of Vegetation Science 3, 579–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemp, P R (1989) Seed bank and vegetation processes in deserts, pp 257–281in Leck, M A, Parker, V T; Simpson, R L, (Eds) Ecology of soil seed banks. San Diego, California, Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinucan, R J and Smeins, F E (1992) Soil seed bank of a semiarid Texas grassland under three long-term (36-years) grazing regimes. American Midland Naturalist 128, 11–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klemmedson, J O and Barth, R C (1975) Distribution and balance of biomass and nutrients in desert shrub ecosystems. US/IBP Desert Biome Research Memo 75–5, Logan, Utah, Utah State University.Google Scholar
Louda, S (1989) Predation in the dynamics of seed regeneration, pp 25–51in Leek, M A, Parker, V T;Simpson, R L, (Eds) Ecology of soil seed banks. San Diego, California, Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazzarino, M J, Bertiller, M B, Laos, F and Coronato, F R (1996) Spatial patterns of nitrogen availability, mineralization, and immobilization in northern Patagonia, Argentina. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation 10, 295–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mull, J F and MacMahon, A (1996) Factors determining the spatial variability of seed densities in a shrub-steppe ecosystem: the role of the harvester ants. Journal of Arid Environments 32, 181–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, J K and Chew, R M (1977) Factors affecting seed reserves in the soil of a Mojave desert ecosystem, Rock Valley, Nye County, Nevada. American Midland Naturalist 97, 300–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norusis, M J (1993) SPSS for Windows: base system's user guide. Chicago, SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Painter, E L, Detling, J K and Steingraeber, D A (1993) Plant morphology and grazing history. Vegetatio 106, 37–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reichman, O J (1977) Optimization of diets through food preferences by heteromyid rodents. Ecology 58, 454–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlesinger, W H, Reynolds, J F, Cunningham, G L, Huenneke, L F, Jarrell, W M, Virginia, R A and Whitford, W G (1990) Biological feedbacks in global desertification. Science 247, 1043–1048.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soholt, L F (1973) Consumption of primary production by a population of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) in the Mojave Desert. Ecological Monographs 43, 357–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soil Survey Staff (1992) Key to soil taxonomy. Washington DC, USDA.Google Scholar
Soriano, A (1950) La vegetación del Chubut. Revista Argentina de Agronomía 17, 30–66.Google Scholar
Soriano, A, Sala, O E and Perelman, S (1994) Patch structure and dynamics in a Patagonian arid steppe. Vegetatio 111, 127–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K and Grime, J P (1979) Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. Journal of Ecology 67, 893–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trlica, M J and Rittenhouse, L R (1993) Grazing and plant performance. Ecological Applications 3, 21–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vinton, M A and Burke, I G (1995) Interactions between individual plant species and soil nutrient status in shortgrass steppe. Ecology 76, 1116–1133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zammit, C and Zedler, P H (1994) Organization of the soil seed bank in the mixed chaparral. Vegetatio 111, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar