The spore bank of "Athyrium filix-femina" and "Dryopteris filixmas" in a Scottish pine wood of the Guadarrama mountain range

Abstract

The soil spore bank plays a pivotal role in fern population dynamics. Thus, the confirmation of its existence and the knowledge of its behaviour are basic to know population functioning. To study the presence and viability of a spore bank, soil samples were collected in a Scottish pine wood in which Athyrium filix-femina and Dryopteris filix-mas are the dominant fern species, and the amount of gametophytes of each species was quantified. Vertical structure, sampling at three different depths, from 3-10, 10-20 and 20-25 cm, and the effect of distance to spore source, sampling at 0, 2 and 5 m from sporophytes, were studied. We observed differences between both species, the spores of Athyrium filix-femina were dominant. Viable spore percentages were higher than in Dryopteris for both factors studied. A higher presence of Athyrium spores in the bank could explain the dominance of this species in the area.