Buried seed banks as indicators of seed output along an altitudinal gradient

Abstract

The effects of environment on plant distribution are easily seen on mountains, but the mechanisms controlling these effects are much less easily demonstrated. Studies of the buried seed bank provide a relatively easy way of determining the cumulative effects of environment on seed production and thus, ultimately, in controlling plant species’ altitudinal limits. Some of the problems encountered in using buried seed density as a measure of seed output are discussed.