Teffects of animal removal and groundcover on the fate of seeds of Quercus liaotungensis
动物搬运与地表覆盖物对辽东栎种子命运的影响

There are few seedlings from seeds of Quercus liatungensis in mature Q.liaotungensis forests in Dongling mountain region.The natural population regeneration of Q.liaotungensis depends on basal sprouting,although a large number of seeds drop every year.To determine the main factors influencing the fate of seeds and the seed bank dynamics,we investigated the fate of the seeds under some experimental conditions.The results show that removal and predation in situ by animals is the most important factor affecting the fate of seeds,and Q.liaotungensis could grow into seedlings from seeds without this factor.Most of the seeds scatterhoarded by rodents were consumed,and very few survived.Groundcover reduced the removal and predation in situ by animals,but was not effective enough to result in seedling emergence.