Soil seed bank composition
A total of 118 species were found in the SSB and AGV. 55 species were present in SSB while they were absent in the AGV and 53 species were present in the AGV while absent in the SSB (Appendix 1).
In total, 2316 seedlings of 67 species (22 families) were germinated in soil samples: 910 seedlings belonging to 28 species in A. scoparia patch, 661 seedlings belonging to 30 species in D. mezereum patch, 637 seedlings belonging to 45 species in E. stellata patch and 108 seedlings belonging to 23 species in herbaceous patch (control). There were 12 species, common in four patches. The germinated seeds of A. scoparia shrub was observed in the greenhouse while seeds of D. mezereum and E. stellatashrubs were absent in the SSB. Most observed species in SSB belonged to Asteraceae (12 species, 17.91% of total species), Poaceae (9 species, 13.43% of total species) and Lamiacea (9 species, 13.43% of total species), respectively (Appendix 1).