Project R-11119

Seed bank potential and germination of pioneer species on coal mine spoil heap ecosystems (Research)

Recultivation of post-industrial sites presents a challenge for the modern land management. Currently there is a growing interest in utilizing spontaneous succession processes in restoring degraded land. On the spoil heaps the pre-existing ecosystem is completely destroyed by the deposition of the overburden. Succession has to start from the bare ground. Arrival and accumulation of the diaspores from the adjacent ecosystems as well as their germination in the degraded habitat are therefore crucial and vulnerable processes for the vegetation formation. Both germination and seedling survival are influenced by interactions with microbial strains present inside seeds, on their surface and within the spermosphere. Extreme conditions of the spoil heap environment may influence the composition of plant microbiome as well as the selection of strains that are vertically transmitted from maternal plant onto seeds. The goal of my research is the assessment of the seed bank potential of non-recultivated colliery spoil heap and exploring germination requirements as well as seedmicrobial interactions of the most important species present in it.

01 January 2021 - 15 December 2021