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Two ways of trapping seeds in alpine environments, Lapland, Sweden
Author(s) -
Larsson EvaLena
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
nordic journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.333
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1756-1051
pISSN - 0107-055X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-1051.2003.tb00402.x
Subject(s) - seed dispersal , vegetation (pathology) , biological dispersal , trapping , biology , homogeneous , trap (plumbing) , ecology , habitat , environmental science , medicine , population , physics , demography , pathology , environmental engineering , sociology , thermodynamics
Seed dispersal in two habitats was investigated in the mid‐alpine Latnjajaure valley, in northernmost Swedish Lapland. The seed rain size was measured using artificial seed traps and natural snowbed at a heath and a meadow site, c. 1000 m a.s.l. The average seed rain size trapped in the snowbeds varied from 18 seeds m ‐2 at the heath site, to 96 seeds m‐ 2 at the meadow site. On average, the heath trap station had 177 seeds m‐ 2 and the meadow station, 218 seeds m 2 . At each site, the vegetation was inventoried within a circular area with a radius of 20 m. Overall, the species assembly in the seed rain reflected the surrounding vegetation. However, there were additional species in the seed rain as well. At the seed trap station on the wind‐exposed heath, 78% of the seeds originated from sites outside the homogeneous vegetation around the trap. These seeds were dispersed from locations at least 150 m from the trap site. By trapping a higher number of species than artificial traps and a higher number of seeds per unit area, snowbeds served as effective ‘seed traps’. However, the location of the sampling spot in the snowbed is crucial due to a decrease in seed density towards the edge. In this study, with the aim of trapping the main dispersing species in the area, the optimal artificial seed trap size appears to be ‐ 1.5–2.0 m 2 . There was also a positive correlation between the mean July and August temperature, the seed rain size, and the number of species found. Thus, through brief visits to remote locations, the study of seed dispersal can be accomplished effectively when snowbeds are present on the landscape.