The soil seed bank is one of the most important ecological indicators to evaluate and monitor the ecological restoration process of plant communities. We aimed to analyze the influence of two different ecological restoration techniques on the diversity and floristic composition of the soil seed bank and of standing vegetation, in two 4-year-old areas under forest restoration around bauxite mining, Southeast Brazil. A total of 30 soil samples were collected in each area (SPN—forest restoration by seedling planting in rows and nucleation techniques between planting rows and SP—forest restoration by seedling planting in rows). The samples were transported to a shade house and evaluated for 6 months, where germinated individuals were counted and identified weekly. A floristic census of shrub/tree species was conducted to assess the diversity of standing vegetation. The results indicated that the soil seed banks of the two areas are floristically similar (predominance of pioneer, herbaceous, and native origin species). The two restoration techniques did not differ in their effects on the species composition of the soil seed bank, mainly due to the restoration age. However, when analyzing the standing vegetation, 38 species were recorded in SPN, while only 20 species were in SP. This result demonstrates that nucleation techniques contributed to the increase in species diversity in SPN. We conclude that combining seedling planting in rows with nucleation techniques (topsoil transposition, direct seeding, and artificial perches) can enhance species diversity in standing vegetation, improve forest functionality, and consequently enhance the potential for forest restoration.

中文翻译：

---

通过成核技术补充苗木种植可增加铝土矿开采周边地区的森林恢复潜力

土壤种子库是评价和监测植物群落生态恢复过程最重要的生态指标之一。我们的目的是分析两种不同的生态恢复技术对巴西东南部铝土矿开采周围两个 4 年森林恢复区域土壤种子库和常备植被的多样性和植物区系组成的影响。每个区域共采集30个土壤样品（SPN——行间植苗恢复森林和行间成核技术；SP——行间植苗恢复森林）。将样本运送到遮荫室并进行为期 6 个月的评估，每周对发芽个体进行计数和识别。对灌木/树种进行了植物区系普查，以评估直立植被的多样性。结果表明，两个地区的土壤种子库在植物区系上相似（以先锋、草本和本地物种为主）。两种恢复技术对土壤种子库物种组成的影响没有差异，主要是由于恢复年龄的不同。然而，在分析现存植被时，SPN 记录了 38 种，而 SP 只记录了 20 种。这一结果表明成核技术有助于增加 SPN 中的物种多样性。我们的结论是，将成行育苗与成核技术（表土转位、直播和人工栖息地）相结合可以增强常备植被的物种多样性，改善森林功能，从而增强森林恢复的潜力。