Relationship between soil seed bank and standing vegetation in the Saharan rangelands of southeastern Algeria

Abstract

The soil seed bank (SSB) plays a significant role in the regeneration of plant communities. To assess the relationship between SSB species composition and standing vegetation, we collected 360 soil samples (500 cm³) from six Saharan rangelands. Standing vegetation was inventoried at the same time as the seed bank was sampled, while the latter was analyzed using the seedling emergence method. Sixty-three species belonging to 22 families were identified for the standing vegetation, while 58 species belonging to 25 families were inventoried for the SSB. A relatively low correlation (r = 0.34) between the SSB and standing vegetation was observed. However, the similarity coefficient (SC = 0.49) indicated a moderate similarity between the SSB and standing vegetation. Our findings suggest that the SSB makes an effective contribution to the regeneration of ephemeral plants compared with perennial species. This indicates that the SSB is an important resource for the regeneration and resilience of ecosystems, but the lack of perennial seeds could slow down this process. In this respect, human intervention appears essential for the conservation and preservation of vegetation in the Saharan environment.