The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation
The world’s grasslands are under increasing threat of degradation. Given the potential for multiple drivers of decline, precise diagnosis of degradation is best achieved by comparison with a local, sustainable grassland community. Comparisons of this kind are becoming increasingly common for regiona...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Chao Chen Wei He John Scullion Mike Wilkinson |
| author_facet | Chao Chen Wei He John Scullion Mike Wilkinson |
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| description | The world’s grasslands are under increasing threat of degradation. Given the potential for multiple drivers of decline, precise diagnosis of degradation is best achieved by comparison with a local, sustainable grassland community. Comparisons of this kind are becoming increasingly common for regional grassland plant communities, but these studies largely overlook interactions between soil responses to system degradation and the effective functioning of the soil seed bank. Surveys of grassland degradation studies have revealed that only around 5% include information on soil seed bank composition and no one aspect of community structure features across all studies. Furthermore, the majority of studies provide information only on ground coverage, sward biomass or species diversity in the plant subcommunity, with very few including information on the health of the soil seed bank or how changes in the soil environment could drive further deterioration in the plant community size, structure or effective functioning of the soil seed bank. We consider that soil responses to sward degradation are likely to exacerbate rather than mitigate impacts on soil seed bank function, leading to a spiral of system degradation in the absence of timely and targeted intervention. We propose improvements for future studies seeking to diagnose and quantify grassland degradation. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-333a7019d3ea41259c8fce9966e1cefc2025-01-24T13:29:27ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182025-01-011714210.3390/d17010042The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland DegradationChao Chen0Wei He1John Scullion2Mike Wilkinson3Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS), Beijing 100097, ChinaProvincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology of Shaanxi Province, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, ChinaDepartment of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3FL, UKDepartment of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3FL, UKThe world’s grasslands are under increasing threat of degradation. Given the potential for multiple drivers of decline, precise diagnosis of degradation is best achieved by comparison with a local, sustainable grassland community. Comparisons of this kind are becoming increasingly common for regional grassland plant communities, but these studies largely overlook interactions between soil responses to system degradation and the effective functioning of the soil seed bank. Surveys of grassland degradation studies have revealed that only around 5% include information on soil seed bank composition and no one aspect of community structure features across all studies. Furthermore, the majority of studies provide information only on ground coverage, sward biomass or species diversity in the plant subcommunity, with very few including information on the health of the soil seed bank or how changes in the soil environment could drive further deterioration in the plant community size, structure or effective functioning of the soil seed bank. We consider that soil responses to sward degradation are likely to exacerbate rather than mitigate impacts on soil seed bank function, leading to a spiral of system degradation in the absence of timely and targeted intervention. We propose improvements for future studies seeking to diagnose and quantify grassland degradation.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/1/42plant life cyclesoil permeabilitydormancyPoaceaesoil organic matter |
| spellingShingle | Chao Chen Wei He John Scullion Mike Wilkinson The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation Diversity plant life cycle soil permeability dormancy Poaceae soil organic matter |
| title | The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation |
| title_full | The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation |
| title_fullStr | The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation |
| title_short | The Importance of Soil Seed Bank Function in Studies of Grassland Degradation |
| title_sort | importance of soil seed bank function in studies of grassland degradation |
| topic | plant life cycle soil permeability dormancy Poaceae soil organic matter |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/1/42 |
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