Seasonal flooding, topography, and organic debris interact to influence the emergence and distribution of seedlings in a tropical grassland

In seasonally flooded wetlands, natural disturbances such as flooding and associated organic debris deposition followed by a drawdown period provide various opportunities for plant species regeneration, which can promote plant community diversity across space and time. Specifically, regeneration may be influenced by the direct effect of flooding on seed dispersal and seedling emergence as well as the indirect effect of organic debris on seed trapping and germination. Our objective was to examine the influence of seasonal flooding, topography, and cover of organic debris on seedling distribution in seasonally flooded grassland of the Pantanal. We measured species richness and abundance of seedlings for three years at three topographic levels with variable coverage of organic debris at the end of the flood season, and during the dry season when there was no debris deposition. A total of 43 species were recorded with no difference in species richness between immediate post-flood and dry s...

在季节性淹没湿地中，洪水、伴随而来的有机碎屑沉积以及随后的水位退落期等自然干扰，为植物物种的再生提供了多样契机，进而可推动植物群落在时空维度上的多样性提升。具体而言，植物再生可能受到两方面因素的影响：一是洪水对种子扩散与幼苗出土的直接作用，二是有机碎屑对种子捕获与萌发的间接效应。本研究旨在探究季节性洪水、地形以及有机碎屑覆盖度对潘塔纳尔（Pantanal）季节性淹没草原中幼苗分布的影响。本研究在洪峰期末以及无碎屑沉积的旱季，针对三类地形梯度、有机碎屑覆盖度存在差异的样地，连续三年开展了幼苗物种丰富度与多度的测定工作。本次研究共记录到43个物种，洪灾后即刻与旱季的物种丰富度并无显著差异（原文后续内容未完整呈现）。