E&E Fall 2021 Seminar Series:
Dr. Castilleja Olmsted
University of Pittsburgh - Carson Lab
Exploring cryptic biodiversity: towards a better understanding of the ecological processes that regulate soil seed banks
Soil seed banks facilitate long-term survival and coexistence of plant species in ecosystems worldwide. However, forest seed banks, particularly those in temperate forests are undervalued because of apparently low similarity between the seed bank and above-ground plant community. Additionally, ecological processes regulating soil seed banks in forests are understudied, with most papers focusing on single sites. Here, I provide an overview of forest seed banks and their potential importance, discuss the preliminary findings of a literature review of seed banking in forests worldwide, including an evaluation of common methodological problems and the reliability of previous studies. I also share the experimental design and preliminary results of a study testing multiple potential drivers of seed bank composition in temperate forests – natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and herbivory.
Wednesday, November 10th, 2021
A219B Langley Hall
12:00 PM