The Role of Soil Seed Banks and Seed Dispersal Mechanisms for an Ecosystem Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation: Review Article

Abstract

Land degradation, species extinction, desertification, and climatic risks are natural marvels of the earth recently. In response, the 2012 United Nations Rio+20 conference on sustainable development set the goal of restoring 150 million ha of disturbed and degraded land by 2020. Therefore,  restoration ecology is intended to restore a degraded ecosystem and disappeared plant species. In this regard, plant reappearance to a degraded ecosystem largely depends on the presence of viable seed banks in the soil. Consequently, seed banks preserve functionally and genetically varied below-ground plant species pool available for germination. Furthermore, seed banks represent local ‘biodiversity reservoirs’ that can pay to local population persistence and maintenance. However, the presence of soil seed banks varied along with ecosystem types and climatic gradients. Hence, if plant seeds have been lost from the soil, it has to be transported to the site by dispersal agents. Accordingly, seed dispersal lets plants to colonize new areas, avoid sibling competition, natural enemies, and met genetic structure and population dynamics. Though dispersal plays a major role in ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, its effectiveness varies with dispersal agents, species, and ecosystem types. Furthermore, changes in climatic factors can have a direct impact on phase of seed dispersal, either by increasing or decreasing the dispersal distance. However, seeds did not behave in a similar ways with respect to germination after arrival to a site due to dormancy, and environmental factors. Thus dormancy guarantees species capacity to survive, decrease competition between individuals, and prevent unseasonable germination. Therefore, scientific information on the contribution of soil seed banks and seed dispersal mechanisms for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration is vital for designing conservation strategies, restoration plans, and climate change mitigation strategies.

Keywords: climate change, colonization, dormancy, extinction, germination, habitat, plant species

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/14-5-03

Publication date: April 30^th 2023