Restoration Effect of Topsoil Removal on the Herbaceous Community Invaded by Coreopsis Lanceolata in the Vegetation of Dry Gravel Riverbeds

27 Mar Restoration Effect of Topsoil Removal on the Herbaceous Community Invaded by Coreopsis Lanceolata in the Vegetation of Dry Gravel Riverbeds

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Abstract

English Abstract

A large number of buried seeds of Coreopsis lanceolata accumulate on the topsoil in C. lanceolata-domi nt communities. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of removing the topsoil on the C. lanceolata-domi nt community, in terms of the elimi tion of the buried seeds of C. lanceolata and the restoration of the tive vegetation in dry gravel riverbeds. After the removal of the topsoil, the number of buried seeds of C. lanceolata decreased by 80% as compared to the number of buried seeds of C. lanceolata before the removal of the topsoil in the experimental plot. Three years after the removal of the topsoil, the total number of shoots of C. lanceolata occurring in the experimental plot decreased by 97 to 99% as compared to the number of shoots of C. lanceolata before the removal of the topsoil. These results show that removal of the topsoil is effective in elimi ting the buried seeds of C. lanceolata as well as in decreasing the accumulation of C. lanceolata. On the other hand, the domi nce of the endemic species in dry gravel riverbeds, such as Artemisia capillaris and Potentilla chinensis, was low. However, the number of individuals of these species began to increase two years after the removal of the topsoil.