GERMINABLE SOIL SEED BANK DYNAMICS DURING THE GAP PHASE OF A HUMID TROPICAL FOREST IN THE WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA, INDIA

The present study showed that the density of germinable seeds in the soil of a humid tropical forest ecosystem at Nelliampathy, in the Western Ghats of Kerala in India, fluctuates sharply at different times of the year. There were more germinable seeds in the soil during the monsoon season. Regeneration was activated after canopy gap formation and thus a decline in the soil seed density in 1-year-old gaps was recorded. However, soil seed density increased with gap age. Differences were found between primary, late secondary and early secondary categories of species with respect to their soil seed bank. There were more seeds of primary species in the soil of natural gaps than in selection felled ones, while the seeds of early secondary shrubs and herbs were more in the soil of selection felled gaps than in natural gaps. The soil seed banks of the primary forest species, being transient, are not an important conservation tool for these species.