Seed bank of a forest remnant and two pasture areas with different ages, located in the city of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the seed bank of a forest remnant and two pasture areas, with 17 and 27 years of age, in the city of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. To evaluate the seed bank of the three areas, 8 samples were randomly collected for each area, with 4 subplots. Evaluations of the individuals regenerated on the 60^th and 120^th day were made. In the first evaluation, 448, 217 and 89 individuals m^-2 germinated in the pasture with 27 and 17 years of age and in the forest remnant, respectively. On the 120^th day, 285 individuals m^-2 regenerated in the pasture with 27 years of age, 243 individuals m^-2 in the pasture with 17years of age and 264 individuals m^-2 in the forest remnant. In pasture areas with 17 and 27 years of age the seed bank is dominated by herbaceous species, and there is no more seeds of tree species deposited in the seed bank, which could be used for reforestation of the disturbed land.