Ski run re-vegetation at high altitudes: Badly adapted seed mixtures can influence the soil seed bank and enhance the danger of erosion

摘要

The soil seed bank of a 5-yr-old graded ski run near St.Anton/Arlberg, Austria (2300 m), was assessed by germination tests. 4 seed mixtures and 3 seeding methods were compared 5 years after the construction of the ski run. Species specific and total above ground biomass were assessed within each of the 6 plots. 16 soil samples for germination tests were taken from every plot. The most striking result was the abundance of seeds in the at most 5-yr-old diaspore community of the ski run substrates. The cheaper the seed mixture, the bigger were the soil seed banks of small immigrating native species like Sagina saginoides. Due to morphological and biological traits of tiny volunteers like Sagina, neither sustainable development of the plant cover nor efficient erosion control can be expected on these plots.