干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Restoration of sand vegetation is both the basis of and a prerequisite for recovery from desertification. Soil seed banks are the origin of the revegetation process. Seed banks are an important component of ecosystem resilience and represent the regeneration potential for many plant assemblages. Species overcome periods of unfavorable weather conditions by building up a large seed bank. With this strategy, species diversity is preserved, and information on their dynamics and structure is retained. Research on soil seed banks has gained broad interest because of the important role seed banks play in plantation renovation and restoration, preservation of biological diversity, vegetation succession and diffusion processes and other aspects of vegetation. This paper reviewed research methods, basic features of soil seed banks and the relationship between soil seed banks and aboveground vegetation and seed size in desert regions. Some suggestions have been made for future work. This paper is aimed at providing a useful framework for future research.