Researchers found that planted forests consistently harbor denser seed banks than natural forests, offering crucial regeneration potential. By examining over 900 forest sites, the study revealed how climate factors like temperature and precipitation, alongside soil nutrients and forest stand characteristics, jointly influence SSBD patterns.
Soil seed banks are hidden but vital components of forest ecosystems. They store viable seeds in the soil and serve as a backup system for vegetation recovery, community succession, and biodiversity maintenance. While natural forests evolve through native species and complex succession, planted forests are shaped by human intervention and often have simpler structures. Understanding the differences in SSBD between these two forest types, especially at the macro scale, is essential for improving forest regeneration practices. Climatic factors like temperature and rainfall, as well as soil nutrients and stand traits, are known to affect SSBD, but their combined effects across large forest systems remain underexplored. Due to these complexities, a deeper investigation was urgently needed.
A study (DOI: 10.48130/seedbio-0024-0020) published in Seed Biology on 09 December 2024 by Xiali Guo & Jie Gao’s team, Xinjiang Normal University, highlights the importance of integrating climate data and soil health into forest management strategies to maintain ecosystem resilience and guide ecological restoration under global climate stress.
To investigate the macro-scale patterns and driving factors of SSBD in different forest types, researchers conducted a comprehensive comparative study using data from 537 natural forests and 383 planted forests across China. The study analyzed SSBD in relation to climatic, soil, and forest stand variables, applying structural equation modeling and regression analysis to quantify both direct and indirect influences. The results revealed distinct geographic differences in SSBD between forest types. On average, planted forests exhibited significantly higher SSBD (3.137 m⁻²) than natural forests (2.876 m⁻²). Both forest types showed declining SSBD with rising mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP), while longer sunlight exposure and greater evapotranspiration correlated with higher SSBD. Notably, natural forests were more responsive to climatic changes, indicating higher ecological plasticity. In terms of soil factors, SSBD in both forest types increased with nitrogen content, but natural forests showed higher sensitivity to nutrient variability. Interestingly, increased phosphorus and pH levels led to SSBD reductions in planted forests, whereas soil pH was the most influential variable in natural forests. Forest structural characteristics also played a role—SSBD increased with forest age and average tree diameter, but decreased with stand density and certain leaf traits. Soil nutrient factors explained the most variance in SSBD (up to 37.7%), surpassing climatic and stand factors. Direct effects of soil pH dominated in natural forests, while soil nitrogen was most impactful in planted forests. Moreover, climatic variables such as MAT and MAE indirectly influenced SSBD by altering soil nutrient availability and forest stand traits. Overall, the findings underscore the complex interplay between environmental factors and forest types in shaping seed bank dynamics, with soil attributes emerging as the dominant drivers of SSBD distribution.
This research offers key insights for forest policymakers, ecologists, and land managers seeking to restore degraded landscapes. In practical terms, maintaining soil nitrogen in planted forests and monitoring soil pH in natural forests can significantly improve reforestation outcomes. These findings also support climate-smart forest design, where matching forest type and management strategies to local soil and climatic conditions enhances sustainability.
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References
DOI
10.48130/seedbio-0024-0020
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.48130/seedbio-0024-0020
Funding information
This work was supported by the Xinjiang Normal University Young Top Talent Project (Grant No. XJNUQB2023-14), Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Grant No. 2022D01A213), Fundamental Research Funds for Universities in Xinjiang (Grant No. XJEDU2023P071), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32201543), Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students in 2023 (Grant No. S202310762004), Xinjiang Normal University Landmark Achievements Cultivation Project (Grant No. XJNUBS2301), and the Xinjiang Graduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project and Tianchi Talent Program.
About Seed Biology
Seed Biology (e-ISSN 2834-5495) is published by Maximum Academic Press in partnership with Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory. Seed Biology is an open access, online-only journal focusing on research related to all aspects of the biology of seeds, including but not limited to: evolution of seeds; developmental processes including sporogenesis and gametogenesis, pollination and fertilization; apomixis and artificial seed technologies; regulation and manipulation of seed yield; nutrition and health-related quality of the endosperm, cotyledons, and the seed coat; seed dormancy and germination; seed interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment; and roles of seeds in fruit development. Seed biology publishes a wide range of research approaches, such as omics, genetics, biotechnology, genome editing, cellular and molecular biology, physiology, and environmental biology. Seed Biology publishes high-quality original research, reviews, perspectives, and opinions in open access mode, promoting fast submission, review, and dissemination freely to the global research community.