Soil seed bank of an invasive species, Cecropia peltata L. In kapur limestone hills

Abstract

Cecropia peltata is an invasive species which was initially introduced through Kebun Raya Bogor. Research on the presence of C. peltata and its effect on plant community are still limited and most were based on above ground vegetation observation. Information on seed storage in the soil is important for understanding the impact of plant invasion on an ecosystem. Aim of this tudy is to discover and analyze the impact of C. peltata in the soil seed bank of Kapur limestone hills. Seedling emergence and seed extraction was used for a method. The result showed 646 seedlings of C. peltata in the soil seed bank with seedling density approximately 23.07 ± 33.59 seedlings tray -1. The presence of large amounts of C. peltata in the soil seed bank has the potential to push the dominance of this species on the above vegetation which can subsequently cause loss of native species and habitat destruction.