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Gorse seed bank variability in maritime pine stands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2009

Maya Gonzalez ,
Alexis Mathieu ,
Laurent Augusto ,
Céline Gire ,
Mark R. Bakker  and
Anne Budynek
Maya Gonzalez*
Affiliation:
Université de Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33405Talence, France ENITA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33175Gradignan, France
Alexis Mathieu
Affiliation:
Université de Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33405Talence, France ENITA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33175Gradignan, France INRA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33000Villenave d'Ornon, France
Laurent Augusto
Affiliation:
INRA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33000Villenave d'Ornon, France
Céline Gire
Affiliation:
Université de Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33405Talence, France ENITA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33175Gradignan, France
Mark R. Bakker
Affiliation:
Université de Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33405Talence, France ENITA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33175Gradignan, France
Anne Budynek
Affiliation:
INRA Bordeaux, UMR 1220 TCEM, F-33000Villenave d'Ornon, France
*
*Correspondence Fax: 335 - 5735 - 0759 Email: m-gonzalez@enitab.fr
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Abstract

European gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) is a spiny shrub that grows spontaneously in the understorey of forests and heathlands in western Europe. Gorse is a pioneer species and forms large seed banks that can persist for a long time while buried deeply in the soil. Although many studies have been conducted on gorse seed banks in invasive contexts and in scrubland ecosystems, few data are available on forests in a native context. The aim of the present study was thus to report on the variability of seed-bank density in ‘critical’ stages in the forest management of pine stands (five stands) in south-western France. We examined variations in the number of gorse seeds as a function of soil depth but also of the presence and abundance of adult gorse in the understorey. Seed-bank density did not show a clear decrease in seed number with pine stand age, principally because gorse also appears to be able to establish itself in mature pine stands, probably thanks to local disturbances. In the pine stands in our study, the presence and abundance of seeds in the soil appeared to depend mostly on the presence of adult gorse as seeders in the understorey. Finally, we observed that, contrary to what has generally been found in scrubland ecosystems, most gorse seeds were located in the 5–10 cm soil layer rather than in the 0–5 cm soil layer. This depletion of the first 5 cm may be linked to seed germination that was not compensated for by the production of new seeds.

Keywords

disturbancespine forestseed banksynchronic studyUlex europaeus L.understorey
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 31 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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