Small‐scale disturbances have been linked to the maintenance of plant diversity by promoting the coexistence of competitive and subdominant species. Many proposed mechanisms for this coexistence involve changes to the competitive dynamics or abiotic environment. However, another possible mechanism could be a change to seed bank dynamics, ultimately impacting the species available for re‐establishment. Here, we test: (a) how gap creation alters seed bank composition, seed inputs (i.e. seed rain) and outputs (i.e. seedling establishment and predation); and (b) whether these changes are due to total vegetation removal or an indirect consequence of the removal of particularly influential species or traits.

中文翻译：

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站立的植被作为种子库动态的粗生物过滤器：缺口的产生对原生草原种子输入和输出的影响

通过促进竞争性物种和优势物种的共存，小规模干扰已与维持植物多样性联系在一起。为此共存提出的许多机制涉及竞争动态或非生物环境的变化。但是，另一种可能的机制可能是改变种子库动态，最终影响可用于重建的物种。在这里，我们测试：（a）间隙的产生如何改变种子库的组成，种子输入（即种子雨）和输出（即幼苗的建立和捕食）；（b）这些变化是由于全部植被去除还是由于特别有影响力的物种或性状去除的间接结果。