Seeds stored in the forest floor in a natural stand of Pinus montezumae Lamb.

seed banks have been studied to a greater extent in agriculture than in forestry due to long-standing concerns about the threat to agricultural crops posed by weed species. however, in forest areas seed banks have an important influence on plant succession since the vegetation that colonizes a space after a major disturbance will arise at least partly from them. knowledge about this condition can help land managers to prescribe site treatments that produce desired vegetation from the perspectives of wildlife habitat, reduced plant competition with crop tree species, and related management concerns. the variability of the soil seed bank of a pinus montezumae forest was assessed using seedling-emergence method for soil samples. the number of species and seedling abundance were evaluated by sampling four plots in a natural regeneration area. a total of 43 species were recorded in the seed bank (2 trees, 17 shrubs, 1 grass and 23 herbs). viable seeds of most species were contained in similar abundance in the humus and mineral soil layers. dominant species in the stand (p. montezumae) and codominant species (p. ayacahuite, abies religiosa, and alnus firmifolia) were poorly represented in the soil seed bank which was dominated by seeds of an array of annual and perennial herbs. regeneration of commercial species under any silvicultural method must come from current seed production, or seed produced off site, but not from the soil seed bank.