biostudies-literatureToth AHungarian Ministry of Human CapacitiesBolyai János Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of SciencesHungarian Research, Development and Innovation Officee13226https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8992659biostudies-literatureUnknown10<h4>Background</h4>Soil seed banks play a central role in vegetation dynamics and may be an important source of ecological restoration. However, the vast majority of seed bank studies examined only the uppermost soil layers (0-10 cm); hence, our knowledge on the depth distribution of seed bank and the ecological significance of deeply buried seeds is limited. The aim of our study was to examine the fine-scale vertical distribution of soil seed bank to a depth of 80 cm, which is one of the largest studied depth gradients so far. Our model systems were alkaline grasslands in East-Hungary, characterised by harsh environmental conditions, due to Solonetz soil reference group with Vertic horizon. We asked the following questions: (1) How do the seedling density and species richness of soil seedPeerJVertical distribution of soil seed bank and the ecological importance of deeply buried seeds in alkaline grasslands.PMC8992659NTP-NFTÖ-21-B-0095NKFI FK 124404, NKFI KDP C1762731, NKFI PD 137632, NKFI FK 135329, NKFI KDP 967901, NKFI K 124796Radai ZNovak TJBatori ZKiss RKelemen ADeak BGodo LToth KMiglecz TLukacs KValko OToth ABorza SfalseVertical distribution of soil seed bank and the ecological importance of deeply buried seeds in alkaline grasslands.<h4>Background</h4>Soil seed banks play a central role in vegetation dynamics and may be an important source of ecological restoration. However, the vast majority of seed bank studies examined only the uppermost soil layers (0-10 cm); hence, our knowledge on the depth distribution of seed bank and the ecological significance of deeply buried seeds is limited. The aim of our study was to examine the fine-scale vertical distribution of soil seed bank to a depth of 80 cm, which is one of the largest studied depth gradients so far. Our model systems were alkaline grasslands in East-Hungary, characterised by harsh environmental conditions, due to Solonetz soil reference group with Vertic horizon. We asked the following questions: (1) How do the seedling density and species richness of soil seed2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222025-08-23T03:08:51.573Z2025-08-23T03:08:51.573ZS-EPMC89926593540209710.7717/peerj.13226