Regeneration from seed in herbaceous understorey of ancient woodlands of temperate Europe.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

European ancient woodlands are subject to land use change, and the distribution of herbaceous understorey species may be threatened because of their poor ability to colonize isolated forest patches. The regeneration niche can determine the species assembly of a community, and seed germination traits may be important descriptors of this niche.

Methods

We analysed ecological records for 208 herbaceous species regarded as indicators of ancient woodlands in Europe and, where possible, collated data on seed germination traits, reviewed plant regeneration strategies and measured seed internal morphology traits. The relationship between plant regeneration strategies and ecological requirements was explored for 57 species using ordination and classification analy

SUBMITTER: Blandino C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9292608 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature