Soil Seedbank in a Dipterocarp Rain Forest in Xishuangbanna,Southwest China1

Dipterocarp rain forest reaches its northern latitudinal limit in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. We studied the soil seedbank of dipterocarp rain forest in Xishuangbanna during the dry and wet seasons. Results showed that there were large seed accumulations in both the dry (mean ± SD; 3925 ± 2533 seeds/m²) and wet seasons (5415 ± 3232 seeds/m²). One hundred and sixteen species of seed plants were identified from germination, 66 percent of which were woody species. Weed or pioneer species dominated the seedbank. The soil seedbank in Xishuangbanna had similar species composition as compared to those in tropical Asia, but higher seed storage reflects the intense disturbance and forest fragmentation in this area.