Soil Seed Banks as Indicator of Changes in Vegetation

Soil seed banks are reserve of viable seeds present on the surface and in the soil. They are indicators of the past and present plant population in a community. Seed banks are essential for maintaining life and growth in plant communities and are defined as a build up of viable but ungerminated seeds in or on the soil.

Topical dry deciduous forests of Sagar (Patharia) are under constant threat due to over exploitation for various socio-cultural reasons and increasing growth of pharmaceutical industries. Further, the other disturbances due to overgrazing, frequent fires etc. are also exerting constant pressure on the vegetation. The present work is aimed to study the existing soil seed banks of tropical dry deciduous forest of Sagar at Patharia Hill complex to compare the soil seeds banks populations with the existing composition of forest vegetation.