Abstract
We examined propagule bank in dredged soils collected from 8 sites in Lake Biwa using the seedling emergence method to reveal species composition and environmental variables related to spatial distribution of the sediment propagule bank. Fifty species and 5 taxa consisting of 2 Characeae, 1 bryophyte, 2 pteridophyte, and 50 angiosperms were recorded. Alien aquatic plant species such as Egeria densa and Elodea nuttallii which were recorded before dredging didn't germinate. Generalized linear models revealed that number of aquatic species was explained by percentage of sand, and that numbers of seedlings of submerged species, aquatic species, and indigenous wetland species were explained by percentage of sand and years after previous dredging. These results suggested that grain size composition of sediments and years after previous dredging are important environmental variables to find species-rich and high-density propagule bank.
