Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-nwzlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T12:56:07.148Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Urban domestic gardens (VII): a preliminary survey of soil seed banks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Ken Thompson*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Stephen Colsell
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Jennifer Carpenter
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Richard M. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Philip H. Warren
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
Kevin J. Gaston
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
*
*Correspondence: Fax: +44 0114 2220015, Email: ken.thompson@sheffield.ac.uk

Abstract

As part of a larger survey of biodiversity in private gardens in Sheffield, UK, we examined the composition and diversity of the soil seed banks in each of 56 gardens. Six soil cores from each garden revealed 2759 seedlings of 119 taxa, although the real species richness is likely to be much higher than this. By far the most abundant species were weedy natives, while the most common alien was Buddleja davidii. Seeds of perennial herbs were more abundant than hundreds of all other life forms combined. More frequent species were also more abundant, but the relationship was weak. Numbers of species in the seed bank and in the garden flora were positively but very weakly related. Seeds were quite evenly distributed between 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm soil layers, and most seeds were of species known to have persistent seed banks. Seeds of some species were largely confined to gardens in which the plant was growing, but others were not.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1998) Seeds; Ecology, biogeography and evolution of dormancy and germination. San Diego, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bekker, R.M., Bakker, J.P., Grandin, U., Kalamees, R., Milberg, P., Poschlod, P., Thompson, K. and Willems, J.H. (1998) Seed size, shape and vertical distribution in the soil: indicators of seed longevity. Functional Ecology 12, 834842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnham, K.P. and Overton, W.S. (1979) Robust estimation of population size when capture probabilities vary among animals. Ecology 60, 927936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courtney, A.D. (1968) Seed dormancy and field emergence in Polygonum aviculare. Journal of Applied Ecology 5, 675684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaston, K.J., Smith, R.M., Thompson, K. and Warren, P.H. (2005a) Urban domestic gardens (II): experimental tests of methods for increasing biodiversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 14, 395413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaston, K.J., Warren, P.H., Thompson, K. and Smith, R.M. (2005b) Urban domestic gardens (IV): the extent of the resource and its associated features Biodiversity and Conservation (in press)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grime, J., Mason, G., Curtis, A.V., Rodman, J., Band, S.R., Mowforth, M.A.G., Neal, A.M. and Shaw, S. (1981) A comparative study of germination characteristics in a local flora. Journal of Ecology 69, 10171059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niemelä, J. (1999) Ecology and urban planning. Biodiversity and Conservation 8, 119131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schütz, W. (2000) Ecology of seed dormancy and germination in sedges (Carex). Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 3, 6789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stace, C.A. (1997) New flora of the British Isles 2nd editionCambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sukopp, H. and Starfinger, U. (1999) Disturbance in urban ecosystems. pp. 397412. in Walker, L.R. (Eds) Ecosystems of disturbed ground, Amsterdam, Elsevier.Google Scholar
Thompson, K., Band, S.R. and Hodgson, J.G. (1993) Seed size and shape predict persistence in soil. Functional Ecology 7, 236241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K., Bakker, J.P. and Bekker, R.M. (1997) The soil seed banks of north west Europe: Methodology, density and longevity. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, K., Bakker, J.P., Bekker, R.M. and Hodgson, J.G. (1998) Ecological correlates of seed persistence in soil in the NW European flora. Journal of Ecology 86, 163169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K., Austin, K.C., Smith, R.M., Warren, P.H., Angold, P.G. and Gaston, K.J. (2003) Urban domestic gardens (I): Putting small-scale plant diversity in context. Journal of Vegetation Science 14, 7178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K., Hodgson, J.G., Smith, R.M., Warren, P.H. and Gaston, K.J. (2004) Urban domestic gardens (III): Composition and diversity of lawn floras. Journal of Vegetation Science 15, 373378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar