Stochastic and deterministic processes regulate spatio-temporal variation in seed bank diversity

Abstract

Seed banks often serve as reservoirs of taxonomic and genetic diversity that buffer plant populations and influence post-disturbance vegetation trajectories; yet evaluating their importance requires understanding how their composition varies within and across spatial and temporal scales (α- and β-diversity). Shifts in seed bank diversity are strongly governed by the deterministic role of differential seed longevities. Nevertheless, spatio-temporal variability in propagule depletion from and recruitment into seed banks may alter both α- and β-diversity. Here, we ask to what degree deterministic seed exhaustion, stochasticity in recruitment and mortality, or both, shape α- and β-diversity?

Citation

Royo, Alejandro A.; Ristau Todd E. 2013. Stochastic and deterministic processes regulate spatio-temporal variation in seed bank diversity. Journal of Vegetation Science. 24: 724-734.