BANCO DE SEMILLAS DEL SUELO EN UN ÁREA DE BOSQUES NATIVOS SUJETA A CAMBIO EN EL USO DE LA TIERRA (ENTRE RÍOS, ARGENTINA).

Abstract

Soil seed bank in an area of native forests associated with change in land use (Entre Rios, Argentina). The aim is to analyze the soil seed bank (SSB) in an area of native forests subject to change in land use and assess their role in natural regeneration of these ecosystems. Four treatments were evaluated: Native forest (NF), native forest in livestock management (NFM), regeneration forest (RF) and agriculture (AGR). The seed total density was significantly higher in NFM (11917seeds.m-2) than other treatments, corresponding to AGR the lowest value (3142seeds.m-2). Vachellia caven was the only tree species found, with values of relative density less than 1% in the forests evaluated. Weed species constituted the largest group of percentage contribution to SSB in all treatments, except NFM, dominated by Gramineae forage. The 85% of the weeds identified in AGR were found in the other treatments. The high degree of fragmentation of native forests, associated with the advance of the agricultural frontier, facilitate the seed flow of invasive species from agricultural areas into nearby forests, constituting one of the negative impacts of deforestation.