Disturbance regimes, like low‐intensity fire, canopy gaps and ungulate browsing, play a critical role in determining ecological composition and structure in temperate forests around the world. Each disturbance (or lack thereof) can lead to unique plant communities, but we do not understand how combined disturbances change plant diversity and the resulting soil seed bank. Changes in the soil seed bank, which depend on the plants that survive post‐disturbance, can then influence future biodiversity and succession. We used a long‐term experiment in West Virginia, USA, that factorially manipulated low‐intensity fire, deer exclusion and canopy gaps. Thirteen years after disturbance initiation, we sampled the seed bank from each disturbance treatment. We found that low‐intensity fire led to increased seed bank density, with additional canopy gaps and deer exclusion each creating unique seed bank communities. Combined fire, canopy gaps and deer presence led to high seed bank diversity and the most unique seed communities, while canopy gaps and deer had no effect on seed banks unless the area was previously burned. In contrast, combined fire, canopy gaps and deer exclusion led to the lowest seed bank diversity of all treatments, reflecting the continued legacy of extant plants that grew immediately after disturbance. Seed communities were also distinct from extant understory species over 13 years, regardless of disturbance treatment. Each reintroduced disturbance combination left a unique legacy in the seed bank that will likely influence future forest reorganization following disturbances, adding to our understanding of how multiple disturbances influence forest succession and organization. Synthesis. Forest disturbance regimes have changed around the world and are being restored or manipulated to support biodiversity. Reintroduction of disturbance leads to unique plant communities, but we do not understand how combined disturbances change the soil seed bank. Using an experiment that manipulates low‐intensity fire, canopy gaps and deer exclusion, we find that combinations of these experimental treatments leads to substantially different seed communities. These disturbance‐altered seed banks will likely influence future biodiversity and successional patterns, highlighting how the restoration of disturbance can strongly and indirectly influence temperate forest community dynamics.

中文翻译：

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多重干扰，多重遗留：火灾、树冠缝隙和鹿共同改变了森林种子库


干扰机制，如低强度火灾、树冠间隙和有蹄类动物浏览，在决定世界各地温带森林的生态组成和结构方面发挥着关键作用。每种干扰（或缺乏干扰）都可能导致独特的植物群落，但我们不了解综合干扰如何改变植物多样性和由此产生的土壤种子库。土壤种子库的变化取决于在干扰后存活的植物，从而影响未来的生物多样性和演替。我们在美国西弗吉尼亚州进行了一项长期实验，该实验对低强度火灾、鹿排斥和树冠间隙进行了因子操纵。干扰开始 13 年后，我们从每种干扰处理中对种子库进行了采样。我们发现，低强度火灾导致种子库密度增加，额外的树冠间隙和鹿排斥都创造了独特的种子库群落。火灾、树冠间隙和鹿的存在相结合，导致了种子库的高度多样性和最独特的种子群落，而树冠间隙和鹿对种子库没有影响，除非该地区之前被烧毁。相比之下，火、树冠间隙和鹿排斥导致所有处理中种子库多样性最低，反映了干扰后立即生长的现存植物的持续遗产。种子群落在 13 年中也与现存的林下物种不同，无论干扰处理如何。每个重新引入的干扰组合都在种子库中留下了独特的遗产，可能会影响干扰后的未来森林重组，从而增加我们对多种干扰如何影响森林演替和组织的理解。合成。 世界各地的森林干扰状况已经发生了变化，并且正在被恢复或操纵以支持生物多样性。干扰的重新引入导致了独特的植物群落，但我们不了解综合干扰如何改变土壤种子库。使用操纵低强度火灾、树冠间隙和鹿排斥的实验，我们发现这些实验处理的组合会导致截然不同的种子群落。这些受干扰改变的种子库可能会影响未来的生物多样性和演替模式，突出了干扰的恢复如何强烈和间接地影响温带森林群落的动态。