Glebowy bank nasion zbiorowisk leśnych Wielkopolskiego Parku Narodowego – badania wstępne

The aim of this study is to examine the soil seed banks of the following plant communities: the complex of lakeside plant communities (Carici elongate-Alnetum, Fraxino-Alnetum); the Central European oak-hornbeam forest (Galio sylvatici-Carpinetum); the thermophilous oak forest (Potentillo albae-Quercetum), in the course of transformation into the oak-hornbeam forest; the fresh coniferous mixed forest (Querco roboris-Pinetum) and the subcontinental pine forest (Leucobryo-Pinetum). All of these plant communities are located in protected areas of the Wielkopolska National Park. The soil seed banks of an individual communities are compared according to the species richness and species diversity as well as species similarity between the herb-layer and the seed bank. The soil seed banks are mainly composed of autochthonous species. The studied communities differ in size and species richness of the soil seed bank as well as in its species diversity. The indicated parameters decrease along with the decrease in the fertility and humidity of the communities. A statistically significant, moderate, positive correlation of species richness between the herb layer and the soil seed bank is observed. Nevertheless, the species similarity between the herb layer and the seed bank is relatively low, which can be attributed to the following: 1) the dominance of single species is greater in soil seed banks than in herb layer; 2) woody species whose seedlings were not recorded in the herb layer or were recorded very rarely, have a large share in seed banks; 3) seeds of some clonal plants were not recorded in seed banks as these species invest only small resources in generative reproduction.