| Abstract: | Abstract Germinable seed stores were estimated for 12–13 year old rehabilitation sites in the jarrah forest over two seasons (autumn and spring). Collected soils were subjected to combinations of smoking and heating treatments before the germination procedure was commenced. The mean topsoil seed reserve to a depth of 10 cm was 1938 seeds m?2. Of this total reserve, more than 80% was found in the upper 5 cm of soil. The topsoil seed reserve of these rehabilitation areas was almost seven times that of the adjacent native jarrah forest (292 seeds m?2; Ward et al. 1997). There was a seasonal effect with autumn-collected soils having significantly more germinable seeds (2723 seeds m?2) than soils collected in spring (1153 seeds m?2). More than half (53%) of the topsoil seed reserve in rehabilitated areas was composed of annual weed species, dominated by Aira caryophyllea, Centaurium erythraea and the native Levenhookia pusilla. Of the total of 70 species identified, 13 species showed significantly higher germination in smoked trays while 11 species exhibited significantly higher germination in heated trays. Species responding to the smoking treatment tended to be annuals while those responding to the heating treatment were typically legume shrub species. Examination of the topsoil seed reserve and the vegetation present in these areas showed that while the species composition was similar between the seed store and the vegetation, there was a large difference in densities, with species occurring at much higher densities in the topsoil than in the vegetation. However, the rankings of species were significantly correlated between the topsoil seed reserve and the vegetation present at the site. The implications of these results to prescribed burning of these rehabilitated areas is discussed. |
