Composition and dominant species of soil seed bank along an altitudinal gradient in Mt.Taibai,Qinling Mountains
太白山南坡土壤种子库的物种组成与优势成分的垂直分布格局

We analyzed patterns of species composition and dominance in the soil seed bank along the southern slope of Mt. Taibai, Qinling Mountains. The results are summarized as follows: (1) in terms of seed number, dominant families varied along the altitudinal gradient. According to species number, there were 4 dominant families in the seed banks between 1600 m and 2600 m a.s.l., which was higher than those of other altitudes. Rosaceae was the family with the richest species in the seed bank; (2) Betula utilis occurred in 16 out of 21 plots. The dominance of Betula utilis and Abies fargesii showed a unimodal pattern along the altitudinal gradient, and (3) combining analysis of life form composition and dominant species, trees played a dominant role in the composition of seed banks, while shrub species did not significantly influence species and individual composition of seed banks in Mt. Taibai.