Dynamics of seedling banks in beech forest: results of a 10-year study on germination, growth and survival

The dynamics of a seedling bank was studied in four plots located in the Krynica Experimental Forest, southern Poland. Each sample plot was divided into eight sectors, in which germinants and seedlings were mapped, measured, and labelled; their survival was checked twice a year between 1989 and 1996. Maps of relative light intensities on the forest floor in sample plots were produced on the basis of measurements conducted in June and August 1991. During the entire period of study, European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) made up over 96% of germinants and seedlings. Numbers of beech germinants varied strongly (from 0 to 1178) among plots and years. Each year of abundant germination was followed by one or two years of scarce germination, and there was an increasing trend in the number of germinants in three plots between 1989 and 1996. Seedling emergence was almost independent of relative light intensity and first-season survival was positively, but weakly correlated with it. Long-term survival of seedlings was low and strongly related to relative illumination. Results of analyses of spatial patterns in seedlings suggested that some microsites were more conducive than others to germination and early survival of seedlings. Survival among taller germinants was greater than among shorter ones. A true seedling bank was observed only in two plots, where relative light intensities were 9 and 15% of full sunlight. In a plot with relative light intensity of 4%, the seedling bank was unstable and in the least illuminated plot (<3% of full sunlight) no seedling bank was formed. Results indicate that, even in a strongly shade-tolerant species like beech, formation of a seedling bank requires the occurrence of canopy openings in the close proximity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.