A preliminary survey of seed input into fallow fields in Saskatchewan

Abstract

Seed traps were installed in 10 summer fallow sites across Saskatchewan to monitor annual additions to buried seed populations. Soil cores (7.5 cm deep) were also collected at these sites and tested for viable seeds through seedling emergence under greenhouse conditions. Seedlings of 33 forb species, 5 grass species, and 3 tree species emerged from the traps, whereas seedlings of 28 forb species, 4 grass species, and 1 tree species emerged from the cores. Although the nature of seed input for agricultural sites in different parts of Saskatchewan was highly variable, the annual seed rain onto fallow represented an important supplement to the buried seed reserves and would be an influence on subsequent weed communities in cultivated fields.