The seed bank of an old pampean prairie and its relation with the standing vegetation

Abstract

The seed bank of a prairie which has not been ploughed for at least 40 years was analysed and compared with standing vegetation. There were 28 species in the seed bank: 18 monocotyledoneae and 10 dicotyledoneae, plus five unknown species. In the standing vegetation there were 39 species: 19 monocotyledoneae and 20 dicotyledoneae. Seed bank and standing vegetation share 18 out of 49 known species and their similarity is 54% (Sorensen index). The seeds have an aggregate distribution, therefore the bank is very heterogeneous.