Seed dispersal and seed bank

Abstract

In part three, on vegetation dynamics, it appeared that many species have become newly established in permanent plots in the study areas. Newly established species in a lot can have been present in the seed bank in the soil before emergence. This is only the case for species with a persistent seed bank sensu Thompson & Grime (1979). Some of the new species were certainly present in the borders or along ditches, where they had found a refugium as a result of agricultural practices or after abandoning. These individuals can act as a source population from which species can spread again after changes in the management regimes aimed at the restoration of earlier plant communities. Many newly established species were, however, not present in or near the actual stands in the study areas at the start of the management practices.