Variations in Soil Seed Banks in Sedge Peatlands across an Altitude Gradient
Qi Chen,
Guodong Wang,
Ming Wang,
Meiling Zhao,
Yusong Yuan,
Jingci Meng,
Yantong Zhao,
Nanlin Hu,
Tao Zhang,
Bo Liu
Affiliations
Qi Chen
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Guodong Wang
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Ming Wang
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Institute for Peat and Mire Research, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
Meiling Zhao
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Yusong Yuan
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Jingci Meng
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Yantong Zhao
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Nanlin Hu
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Tao Zhang
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Bo Liu
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
As a key component of the ecosystem, soil seed banks (SSBs) play a vital role in the evolution and renewal of plant communities. Although the pattern and mechanisms of influence of SSBs along the altitudinal gradient have been reported, most studies have focused on forest, grassland and alpine meadow ecosystems. The pattern and factors of SSBs across the altitudinal gradient in sedge peatlands remain largely unknown. Through vegetation surveys and seed germination experiments, we studied the changes in aboveground vegetation and SSBs in sedge peatlands at altitudes ranging from 300 m to 1300 m in the Changbai Mountains, China, and discussed the direct and indirect effects of climatic factors, soil properties and aboveground vegetation on SSBs. The results showed that the richness and density of the SSBs of sedge peatlands decreased with the altitude. Similarly, aboveground vegetation richness and density declined with altitude. A Spearman correlation analysis showed that SSB richness and density were mainly correlated with mean annual temperature, soil total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen and the plant composition and richness of aboveground vegetation. A structural equation model analysis showed that climatic factors and aboveground vegetation directly affected seed bank richness, while soil properties indirectly affected it by directly affecting aboveground vegetation. Climatic factors, soil properties and aboveground vegetation directly affected SSB density, and soil properties indirectly affected it by directly affecting aboveground vegetation. This finding enhances our understanding of the altitude patterns of the SSBs in sedge peatlands and the response to future climate and environmental changes.
