Modeling the effects of historical vegetation change on near-surface atmosphere in the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Our goal was to evaluate effects of broad-scale changes in vegetation from grasslands to shrublands over the past 150 years on near-surface atmosphere over the Jornada Experimental Range in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, using a regional climate model. Simulations were conducted using 1858 and 1998 vegetation maps, and data collected in the field. Overall, the vegetation shift led to small changes in sensible heat (SH) and an increase in latent heat (LH). The impacts of shrub encroachment depended on shrubland type: conversion from grass to mesquite cools the near-surface atmosphere and from grass to creosotebush warms it. Higher albedo of mesquite relative to grasses reduced available energy, which was dissipated mainly as LH due to the deeper root system in mesquite. In creosotebush-dominated areas, a decrease in albedo, an increase in roughness length and displacement height contributed to the SH increase and warmer temperatures. Sensitivity simulations showed that an increase in soil moisture content enhanced shrub LH and a reduction in mesquite cover enhanced the temperature differences. The observed shift in vegetation led to complex interactions between land and surface fluxes, demonstrating that vegetation itself is a weather and climate variable as it significantly influences temperature and humidity.     

Soil heterogeneity and the distribution of desert and steppe plant species across a desert-grassland ecotone

Bouteloua gracilis (Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths (blue grama), Bouteloua eriopoda (Torr.) Torr. (black grama), and Larrea tridentata Coville (creosotebush) are dominant plants on the McKenzie Flats portion of the Llano de Manzano landform within Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, part of the biome ecotone from the Colorado Shortgrass Steppe to the Chihuahuan Desert. In this study, we examine the hypothesis that soil heterogeneity, determined by variation in surface soil depth, carbonate accumulation, and fine-textured fraction, controls relative dominance of the three species. The area is flat, generally <1% slope; however, abrupt soil differences exist even within the flattest parts of the landscape that correspond to the pattern of buried channels incised in a petrocalcic horizon (caliche) formed in a 0.5–1.2 million year-old paleosol beneath the current surface soil. Multivariate analyses of soil-moisture-related variables suggest that B. gracilis, a Colorado Shortgrass Steppe indicator, dominates the buried paleochannels where Holocene surface deposits are deepest and the argillic (clay-rich) B-horizon is thickest. B. eriopoda, dominant in Chihuahuan Desert grasslands, is most abundant where the buried petrocalcic horizon lies within 40–60 cm of the surface and the argillic horizon is thinner and weakly developed. L. tridentata, an indicator of desertified Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, is dominant where the petrocalcic horizon is exposed or near the surface. This study illustrates the strong relationship between geomorphology, soil development and vegetation patterns in arid and semi-arid environments.     

The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert, USA

We quantified soil nutrients and biological crust cover (bryophytes and lichens) under the canopies of three species of Mojave Desert shrubs and in interspaces between shrubs at three elevations to determine the effects of shrub species, soil crust, and elevation on islands of soil fertility. Means of pH, organic matter, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrogen mineralization, and gravimetric soil moisture are significantly greater in soils under Ambrosia dumosa (Gray) Payne, Larrea tridentata Cov., and Coleogyne ramosissima Torr. than soils from adjacent interspace microhabitats. Although soil moisture and soil organic matter increase by a factor of 1.5 from the low elevation to the high elevation site, the ratio of shrub to interspace concentrations, or the difference in mean soil variables between shrubs and interspaces, is effectively constant and independent of elevation. Total bryophyte and lichen cover is relatively low (24.5%), however, there are 11 species of bryophytes and two species of lichens distributed across three elevations with the highest species richness and cover at the low-elevation site. Bryophyte and lichen cover is correlated with silt but is not related, consistently, to soil nutrients. Overall, the balance of processes controlling spatial aggregation of soil nutrients under shrubs is remarkably insensitive to potential differences in organic inputs among elevations, shrub species, and soil crust surfaces.     

MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN REGROWN SALIX ARBUSCULOIDES FOLLOWING CLEAR CUTTING IN THE CANADIAN SUBARCTIC

In a Picea mariana forest near Fort Norman, NWT, Canada, a corridor was cleared in the spring of 1985 to simulate a seismic line or pipeline disturbance. Salix arbusculoides, the dominant erect shrub, was monitored for three growing seasons after canopy harvesting. Leaf area was not consistent between the three years in either the cleared right-of-way or the undisturbed forest control area. Relative to control shrubs, leaves were significantly larger in right-of-way shrubs in 1985, virtually identical in size in 1986, and smaller in the right-of-way shrubs in 1987. In 1986, stem production was so great for right-of-way shrubs that the mean leaf/stem biomass ratio for this sample was smaller than both the other two years for right-of-way samples and the control sample for that year. Right-of-way shrubs were consistently shorter in height than control shrubs; by the third growing season, however, this difference was negligible. Right-of-way shrub canopy volume was significantly less than control shrubs only in the first growing season of recovery (right-of-way shrub volume averaged 85% of control shrub volume). By the second growing season after harvesting, right-of-way shrubs had attained canopy volumes that were no longer significantly less than control shrubs. Although the average canopy volume of right-of-way shrubs approached that of control shrubs as time passed, the right-of-way shrubs maintained a lower, broader morphology, as reflected in the height to mean canopy diameter ratio which was typically lower for right-of-way shrubs. [Key words: plant morphology, vegetation disturbance, subarctic, Canada.]     

High-resolution images reveal rate and pattern of shrub encroachment over six decades in New Mexico, U.S.A.

Encroachment of the shrub Prosopis glandulosa Torr. (honey mesquite) into semi-arid grasslands is a serious concern in the south-western United States, yet little is known about the long-term dynamics of the invasion process. We used ten high-resolution aerial and satellite images taken from 1936 to 1996 to track the population dynamics and spatial pattern of all P. glandulosa greater than 2 m in diameter on a 75 ha area in southern New Mexico.Shrub cover and patch numbers increased from 1936 to the 1970s, then stabilized at 43% cover and 83 patches ha⁻¹. Individual patches were extremely persistent: 95% of the area occupied by shrub patches in 1936 was still occupied in 1996. Recruitment into the 2 m size class was more variable: 0·6–5·2% year⁻¹ (mean 0·8% year⁻¹). Patch-shape complexity increased from 1936 to 1983 as adjacent shrubs merged, and then declined as those clusters filled in and became rounder. Spatial pattern of shrubs showed a distinct trend over time: strongly clustered in 1936 at lag distances up to 250 m, then random arrangement at all scales, and by 1983 pattern was regular at lag distances greater than 100 m. There was no clear relationship with precipitation.The use of remote sensing imagery allowed us to examine one site over time, and revealed patterns in population dynamics and spatial pattern that would not have been visible otherwise. Comparison of field estimates collected in 2001 with 1996 image data suggest that the canopy cover estimates were accurate, but shrub densities were seriously underestimated in the satellite photographs, which do not show shrubs smaller than 2 m diameter. As long as limitations of the imagery are understood, these methods can be applied over a larger and more heterogeneous area to examine environmental correlates of invasion success.     

Change in Extent of Meadows and Shrub Fields in the Central Western Cascade Range,Oregon∗

We examined change in areal extent of mountain meadows and fields of deciduous shrubs and conifer saplings in the central western Cascade Range of Oregon, based on analysis of aerial photographs taken in 1946 and 2000. These nonforest vegetation patches are distinctive habitats in dominantly forested landscapes, such as the Cascades, and change in extent of these habitats is of interest to scientists and land managers. We mapped and dated even-aged forest stands of probable postfire origin around the nonforest patches, using tree-ring analysis and interpretation of aerial photographs. We used these and archival data to interpret possible influences of past wildfire and sheep grazing on the extent of nonforest patches. The total area of nonforest vegetation patches decreased from 5.5 percent of the study area in 1946 to 2.5 percent in 2000. Significantly more cases of contracted patches were observed for mesic and xeric meadows which have adjacent forest established after wildfire in the approximately 150 years preceding 1946. A higher proportion of mesic (47 percent, n = 47) than xeric (17 percent, n= 115) meadows contracted between 1946 and 2000. Broad-leaved shrub fields were unchanged, probably because of topo-edaphic controls, dense cover of shrubs, and snow effects; but all fields of conifer saplings underwent succession to forest. We observed no strong influences of sheep grazing on the extent of meadows.     

Desert grassland canopy arthropod species richness: temporal patterns and effects of intense, short-duration livestock grazing

Arthropods living in the canopies of two woody shrub species (a sub-shrub (Gutierrezia sarothrae) and a large shrub (Prosopis glandulosa)) and perennial grasses plus associated herbaceous species, were sampled on 18, 0.5 hectare plots in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland for five consecutive years. Mesquite shrubs were removed from nine plots, six plots were grazed by yearling cattle in August and six plots were grazed in February for the last 3 years of the 5 year study. Arthropod species richness ranged between 154 and 353 on grasses, from 120 to 266 on G. sarothrae, and from 69 to 116 on P. glandulosa. There was a significant relationship between the number of families of insects on grass and G. sarothrae and growing season rainfall but species richness was not a function of growing season rainfall on any of the plants. Several of the arthropod families that were the most species rich in this grassland were found on all of the plants sampled, i.e. Salticid spiders, Bruchid and Curculionid beetles, Cicadellid and Psyllid homopterans, and ants (Formicidae). There were more species rich families that were shared by grasses and the sub-shrub G. sarothrae than with mesquite. The absence of a relationship between growing season rainfall and species richness was attributed to variation in life history characteristics of arthropods and to the non-linear responses of annual and perennial desert grassland plants to rainfall.There were no significant differences in insect family or species richness on any of the plant types as a result of removal of mesquite (P. glandulosa) from selected plots. Intense, short duration (24 h) grazing by livestock during in late summer resulted in reduced species richness in the grass-herb vegetation layer but had no effect on insect species richness on snakeweed or mesquite shrubs. Livestock grazing in winter had no effect on insect species richness on any of the vegetation sampled.     

黄土高原西部荒漠草原植被恢复的土壤水分管理研究

针对兰州地区荒漠草原带具有代表性的三种地带性植被：草本植被短花针茅、灌木植被珍珠猪毛菜、荒漠锦鸡儿,对其0~2.0 m的土壤含水量进行了比较,同时对草本和灌木植被的根系进行了测定。结果表明：天然植被对土壤含水量的影响在1 m以上。随着土壤深度的不断加深,土壤含水量呈减少趋势而后趋于稳定。短花针茅区1 m以上含水量比珍珠猪毛菜和荒漠锦鸡区平均高1.08和1.21个百分点;1 m以下土壤含水量变化情况是:珍珠猪毛菜区最高,荒漠锦鸡儿区最低。本文在分析了兰州地区荒漠草原区土壤水分动态的基础上,提出了这一地区植被恢复的对策。     

Influence of shrubs on soil characteristics and their function in Sahelian agro-ecosystems in semi-arid Niger

Soil beneath shrubs form ‘fertile islands’ in fallow sites and millet fields in semi-arid Niger. To gain more information about this phenomena different shrub species in fallow sites following a gradient from 350–650 mm precipitation were examined. For each shrub two different areas were distinguished: an area under the canopy of the shrubs and an area in the nearby open land. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0–10 cm and analysed for C_org, N_total, P_Bray, pH(H₂O), exchangeable cations, effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and soil texture. Significantly higher concentrations between 38–51% for C, N, P and 22% on ECEC for K⁺were found in the soil under the shrubs. The pH showed only slight but significant differences, whereas Al³⁺and H⁺rates on ECEC under the shrubs were increased by 44–55%. For Guiera senegalensis, the most common shrub of the studied area, enrichment ratios of most soil properties increased relatively more with increasing aridity. In general, enrichment ratios decreased with the age of the fallows, whereas concentrations showed no clear evolution. The chemical composition of the shrub litter seems to influence the degree of soil enrichment. The main step of fertile island formation takes place during the cultivation period by trapping wind-blown sediment. This work shows that shrubs are of vital importance for the accumulation of nutrients and maintenance of soil fertility within agro-ecosystems of Niger.     

Lichen-dominated soil crusts as arthropod habitat in warm deserts

Soil crust lichens can be the dominant vegetation in arid lands, yet their importance as habitat to secondary producers is relatively unknown. This study examines the distribution of arthropod communities in the northern Namib Desert to evaluate whether a lichen-rich area is more or less productive than adjacent habitats in terms of the consumers each supports. Arthropods are diverse and highly endemic in the Namib Desert and lichens dominate this desert's extensive gravel plains. We sampled lichen-rich, dwarf shrub, and unvegetated sites and found distinct arthropod assemblages in the lichen-dominated sites, including species unique to lichen sites. Arthropod assemblages in two of the lichen sites were similar to those found in the dwarf shrub site. In a canonical correspondence analysis, crustose lichens and overall lichen cover were key in driving the variance in arthropod assemblages within the lichen sites. Furthermore, lichen morphotypes, overall lichen cover and species richness, were significantly correlated with the representation of arthropod subgroups and arthropod species richness. These findings provide evidence that lichen-dominated soil crusts in the Namib Desert are important supporters of secondary production, warranting more in-depth studies into the ecology and conservation of this lichen-rich habitat in warm deserts.     

Impacts of interrelated biotic and abiotic processes during the past 125 000 years of landscape evolution in the Northern Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA

Interrelated, biotic (flora and fauna) and abiotic (pedogenesis and hydrology) processes were examined at four sites (30, and approximately 1000–3000, 7000–12 000, and 125 000 years before present) in the northern Mojave Desert. Data collected at each included floral and faunal surveys; soil texture, structure, and morphology; and soil hydraulic properties. Separate measurements were made in shrub undercanopy and intercanopy microsites. At all sites, shrubs made up greater than 86 percent of total perennial cover, being least on the youngest site (4 percent) and most on the 7000–12 000-year-old site (31 percent). In the intercanopy, winter annual density was highest on the 1000- to 3000-year-old site (249 plants/m²) and lowest on the oldest site (4 plants/m²). Faunal activity, measured by burrow density, was highest on the 1000–3000- and 7000–12 000-year-old sites (0.21 burrows/m²) and density was twice as high in the undercanopy versus the intercanopy. Burrow density was lower at the two oldest sites, although density was not statistically greater in the undercanopy than intercanopy. At the older sites, the soil water balance was increasingly controlled by Av horizons in intercanopy soils in which saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) decreased 95 percent from the youngest to the oldest site. No significant reduction in K_sat in undercanopy soils was observed. Decreases in the intercanopy sites correlated with decreases in annual plant density and bioturbation, suggesting these processes are interrelated with surface age.     

Variability in soil redistribution in the northern Chihuahuan Desert based on Cesium measurements

A hypothesis for understanding the stability of northern Chihuahuan Desert landscapes is that the distribution of soil resources changes from spatially homogeneous in arid grasslands to spatially heterogeneous in invading shrublands. Since radioactive fallout ¹³⁷Cesium (¹³⁷Cs) was deposited uniformly across the landscape during the 1950s and 1960s and was quickly adsorbed to soil particles, any redistribution of ¹³⁷Cs across the landscape would be due to soil redistribution or instability at either plant-interspaces or on a landscape scale. The concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in soils collected from different vegetation communities (black grama grass, tarbush, tobosa grass, and mesquite) at the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico was determined. At the black grama grass and tobosa grass sites, ¹³⁷Cs was uniformly distributed at the plant interspace scale. At the mesquite sites, ¹³⁷Cs was concentrated in the dune area under mesquite shrubs with little to no ¹³⁷Cs in the interdune areas. ¹³⁷Cs data support the hypothesis that significant soil redistribution has occurred at dune sites created by invading mesquite. In the arid grassland-shrub sites with black grama grass, tobosa grass, and tarbush the ¹³⁷Cs data support the hypothesis of spatially homogeneous distribution of soil resources. High concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in the biological soil crusts (0–5 mm) at the tarbush sites indicate that biological soil crusts can contribute to the stability of these sites.     

RUNOFF PRODUCTION AND EROSION PROCESSES ON A DEHESA IN WESTERN SPAIN*

ABSTRACT. Runoff generation and soil erosion were investigated at the Guadalperalón experimental watershed (western Spain), within the land‐use system known as dehesa, or open, managed evergreen forests. Season and type of surface were found to control runoff and soil‐loss rates. Five soil units were selected as representative of surface types found in the study area: hillslope grass, bottom grass, tree cover, sheep trails, and shrub cover. Measurements were made in various conditions with simulated rainfall to gain an idea of the annual variation in runoff and soil loss. Important seasonal differences were noted due to surface cover and moisture content of soil, but erosion rates were determined primarily by runoff. Surfaces covered with grass and shrubs always showed less erosion; surfaces covered with holm oaks showed higher runoff rates, due to the hydrophobic character of the soils. Concentrations of runoff sediment during the simulations confirmed that erosion rates at the study site depended directly on the sediment available on the soil surface.     

荒漠灌丛降雨再分配对土壤pH值的影响

对腾格里沙漠东南缘沙坡头地区1989年建植人工植被区优势固沙灌木柠条（Caragana korshinskii）和半灌木油蒿（Artemisia ordosica）树干茎流及穿透雨的pH值,以及灌丛基部、灌丛下和灌丛外裸地0～10 cm和10～20 cm剖面深度土壤pH值分别进行测定,并与大气降雨pH值进行比较,以探讨荒漠灌丛降雨再分配对土壤pH值空间变异的影响。结果表明:大气降雨pH值最高,穿透雨pH值次之,树干茎流pH值最低,三者之间具有显著差异（p<0.05）。灌丛外裸地土壤pH值最高,灌丛下次之,树干基部最低。总体而言,0～10 cm剖面深度土壤pH值小于其下方10～20 cm剖面深度土壤pH值。柠条灌丛产生的树干茎流对土壤的酸化作用强于油蒿灌丛。树干茎流和穿透雨的酸化作用是导致土壤pH值从灌丛间裸地到灌丛基部方向上降低的一个重要原因。     

Grazing effects on patchy dryland vegetation in northern Patagonia

In this study the spatial patterns and dynamics of vegetation patches along a grazing gradient in the steppe ofLarrea divaricataandStipaspp. in NE Patagonia (Argentina) are described. A general effect of grazing is the reduction of total plant cover resulting from the decrease in cover of perennial grasses (Stipa speciosa, Poa ligularis, Stipa tenuis) and some tall shrubs (Chuquiraga hystrix, Bougainvillea spinosa, Lycium chilense). Dwarf shrubs (Nassauvia fueguianaandJunellia seriphioides) increase their cover under medium and/or high grazing pressures. Plant species are spatially grouped into patches which alternate with areas of bare soil. Eleven types of vegetation patch differing in the dominant plant functional type or species, floristic richness and size were identified with different relative frequency along the grazing gradient. Based on these results, it is postulated that grazing forces the replacement of large patches dominated by tall shrubs with high species richness, byLarrea divaricatapatches or small dwarf shrub patches with low species richness and the extinction of grass patches. This results from: (1) disruption of local balances of species deletions and additions; (2) fragmentation of large patches; and (3) formation of new vegetation patches. These changes lead to differing plant spatial organization and heterogeneity along the grazing gradient which may be described by characteristic arrays of vegetation patches.     

Short-term effects of shrub control on two different plant communities in Argentina

The aim of this work was to study the effect of controlling jarilla (Larreaspp.), nonforage shrubs for livestock, on two plant communities with different forage production in the arid mid-west of Argentina. Total vegetation cover, forage species cover and carrying capacity were determined during three growing seasons, for cleared and uncleared plots. At the end of the study, significant differences were found in theLarrea cuneifoliacommunity, where average forage species cover increased by 156% over the control, and greater carrying capacity (129%) was also obtained from the cleared treatment. No significant differences were found in theLarrea divaricatacommunity. Data lead us to recommend shrub control as an improvement practice only in areas with low forage species cover and poor carrying capacity.     

巴丹吉林沙漠周边植被特征和物种多样性

通过对巴丹吉林沙漠周边地区的野外调查,以重要值为测度指标,计算物种多样性指数、均匀度指数和优势度指数,对巴丹吉林沙漠周边地区荒漠植物群落物种多样性进行分析。结果表明:(1)该区域共计植物37种,各区域重要值大于0.1的物种中,灌木和半灌木占优势;(2)8个区域的Shannon-Wiener指数、Simpson指数、丰富度指数和优势度指数差异显著,区域5(北部)和7(西部)因含有单物种群落,Shannon-Wiener指数和Simpson指数显著低于其他区域;(3)荒漠植物群落结构层次中,8个区域的灌木层片每个多样性指数均没有显著性差异,草本层片在8个区域中多样性水平差异显著,由于荒漠区植被物种稀少、数量少,灌木层和草本层并未表现出显著差异;(4)巴丹吉林沙漠物种多样性水平较低,生态系统脆弱,对巴丹吉林沙漠周边地区生态系统重建时应该关注各种生态型植被的恢复重建。     

科尔沁沙地优势固沙灌木的生物量预测模型

灌木生物量预测模型对于快速估算固沙灌木林生产力具有重要作用。以科尔沁沙地3种常见的固沙灌木小叶锦鸡儿（Caragana microphylla）、差不嘎蒿（Artemisia halondendron）、黄柳（Salix gordejevii）为对象,基于对灌木地上、根系和整株生物量及高度、冠幅等的测定,建立3种灌木地上、根系和总生物量的估算模型,通过决定系数（R²）、估计值的标准误（SEE）和回归检验显著水平（P<0.05）筛选最优的生物量预测模型。结果表明：小叶锦鸡儿和黄柳生物量的最佳估算变量为冠幅体积,而差不嘎蒿的最佳预测变量为冠幅面积。幂函数回归模型具有最大的R²和较小的SEE,说明相对生长方程是估算小叶锦鸡儿、黄柳、差不嘎蒿灌木生物量较理想的模型。通过实测值检验,3种灌木幂函数模型预测生物量的预估精度在93%以上,具有较好的预测精度。     

Effect of plant species on shrub fertile island at an oasis–desert ecotone in the South Junggar Basin, China

Shrub fertile islands are a common feature in arid ecosystems. To examine the effect of plant species on the spatial patterns of soil chemical and physical properties surrounding individual shrubs, two deciduous shrub species with different morphologies (Tamarix spp. and Haloxylon ammodendron Bge.) were studied at an oasis–desert ecotone in South Junggar Basin. Soil samples were collected under the shrub crown (canopy), at the vertically projected limit of shrub crown margin (periphery), and in the space between shrub crowns (interspace) at two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, to analyze their physical and chemical properties. The results show that the fertile islands of Tamarix spp. are enriched with more soil nutrients (significantly higher, P<0.05; soil organic matter (SOM); total nitrogen (TN) and available nitrogen (AN); to a deeper depth (>20 cm) and in a larger area (beyond the canopied area) compared to that of H. ammodendron (significantly higher, P<0.05, soil nutrients detected only for AN; <20 cm in depth; smaller than the canopied area). Soil texture patterns surrounding the shrubs of the two species are even more different, with more coarse particles under the Tamarix spp. canopies compared to the interspace between shrubs but fewer under the H. ammodendron canopies compared to the interspaces. These variations are attributed to the difference in morphology of the two studied species: the Y-shaped crowns of H. ammodendron are less capable of capturing and maintaining litter under them than the hemispheroidal crowns of Tamarix spp., which leads to the less well developed fertile islands surrounding H. ammodendron shrubs.     

Influence of aboveground vegetation on seed bank composition and distribution in a Great Basin Desert sagebrush community

The quantity, composition, and spatial dispersion of seed banks can greatly affect community dynamics. While seed banks of hot deserts have been studied extensively, little is known about seed banks in cold deserts, in particular the relationship between the seed bank and the aboveground vegetation. We investigated the relationship between the seed bank and aboveground vegetation and the effect of microhabitat (shrub interspace or beneath shrub) and aboveground community phase (high or low perennial bunchgrass cover) on the seed bank of a Great Basin Desert sagebrush community. The seed bank and aboveground vegetation differed in their most dominant species, resulting in moderately dissimilar species compositions as determined by Sørensen's similarity index and Bray–Curtis distance. In contrast, comparing the seed bank species composition to the aboveground vegetation structure (functional groups) using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) revealed a correspondence between the two communities. Shrub seed densities were higher beneath shrubs. Neither microhabitat nor community phase explained variation in total seed density or species richness. Therefore, our measures of the aboveground vegetation did not influence seed density across functional groups or species richness, and the similarity between the seed bank and aboveground vegetation varied depending on the aboveground organizational level used in comparisons.