Composition and viability of the seed bank along a successional gradient on a Baltic sea shore meadow

Abstract

The seed‐bank in a Baltic sea‐shore meadow was studied and soil samples were taken regularly along a 60‐m transect. The transect reflected a successional gradient. The seed bank had its highest density around the mean water level for August, which was about 10 cm above the yearly mean water level. It was totally dominated by seeds of Juncus gerardii . The depth distribution was investigated. Only at two of ten sampling points (i.e. around mean water level of August) could a significant peak in the second cm from the top be observed, otherwise the distribution was quite even. A comparison between present vegetation and the seed bank revealed a strong difference.