Table 1. Results (mean + 1 SE) of seed bank sampling in the prescribed burn area (1995, n = 5; 1998, n = 7) for the total number of intact seeds/m2, the number of viable seeds/m2, and the percentage of viability in samples from the top 5 cm of soil and next 5 cm of soil below that. Asterisks indicate a significant difference between top and bottom samples (paired t tests, P< 0.05).

No. intact seeds/m2
No. viable seeds/m2
Viability (%)
Period
Top 5 cm
Bottom
5 cm
Top 5 cm
Bottom
5 cm
Top 5 cm
Bottom
5 cm
Preburn–1995
12491* (2061)
2732 (927)
534 (105)
185 (86)
5.3   (1.8)
7.5 (3.6)

Preburn–1998

8568* (1638)
2895 (634)

235  (84)
  99 (30)

2.8   (0.8)
4.2 (1.6)

Postburn–1998

7900*   (859)
1073 (283)

  54  (17)
  45 (12)

0.8* (0.2)
4.4 (1.5)