CROP TYPE, FIELD POSITION, AND LANDSCAPE LEGACY AS DRIVERS OF WEED SEED-BANK DIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/eijaer.v12i2.131Keywords:
weed seed bank, crop type, field position, landscape legacy, community compositionAbstract
Weed seed banks provide an integrated record of past cropping, spatial heterogeneity, and long-term management within agricultural ecosystems. This study evaluated how crop type, field position, and landscape legacy were associated with weed seed-bank diversity across 24 paired samples from 12 agricultural fields. The dataset comprised 40 weed species from 19 botanical families and 1,458 emerged individuals. Seed-bank structure was assessed using species richness, total abundance, Shannon diversity, Simpson diversity, and community composition. Maize-associated samples exhibited the highest mean richness and abundance, but differences among maize, soybean, and wheat–soybean fields were not statistically significant. Field-position contrasts likewise showed no significant differences, although one position supported greater abundance while the other maintained higher diversity and evenness. In contrast, pronounced field-to-field variation and a stronger regional signal in community composition indicated a greater influence of persistent site conditions and cropping-history legacy. NMDS and PERMANOVA further showed substantial overlap among crop and field-position groups, suggesting that short-term agronomic categories alone did not account for the observed heterogeneity. Dominance by Portulaca oleracea and Amaranthus quitensis also contributed strongly to differences in community structure. Overall, weed seed-bank diversity was more closely associated with persistent site-level and historical influences than with short-term crop identity or field position.
References
DaAllen, J., Menalled, U. D., Adeux, G., Pelzer, C. J., Wayman, S., Jernigan, A. B., ... & Ryan, M. R. (2024). Fertility and tillage intensity affect weed community diversity and functional structure in long‐term organic systems. Ecological Applications, 34(7), e3029.
Auffret, A. G., Ladouceur, E., Haussmann, N. S., Daouti, E., Elumeeva, T. G., Kačergytė, I., ... & Plue, J. (2024). A global database of soil seed bank richness, density, and abundance. Ecology, 105(11).
Devoto, M. (2026). Data and code for: Weed seed banks at the crop–margin interface reflect site-level legacies rather than short-term crop identity in the Rolling Pampas [Dataset]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19571094
Ghosh, S., Das, T. K., Nath, C. P., Bhatia, A., Biswas, D. R., Bandyopadhyay, K. K., ... & Raj, R. (2023). Weed seedbank, above‐ground weed community and crop yields under conventional and conservation agriculture practices in maize–wheat–mungbean rotation. Weed Research, 63(4), 270-281.
Hawes, C., Christie, A., Banks, G., Boldrin, D., Brandt, J., Iannetta, P., ... & Turner, I. (2025). Long-term regenerative practices enhance in-field biodiversity and soil health for sustainable crop yields. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, 1651686.
Hossain, M. M., Begum, M., Hashem, A., Rahman, M. M., Ahmed, S., Hassan, M. M., ... & Bell, R. W. (2021). Strip tillage and crop residue retention decrease the size but increase the diversity of the weed seed bank under intensive rice-based crop rotations in Bangladesh. Agronomy, 11(6), 1164.
Kaur, R., Deol, J. S., Kaur, N., & Kaur, S. (2024). Weed seed bank and dynamics in wheat as affected by sowing time and rice residue management methods. Indian Journal of Weed Science, 56(1), 24-29.
Köllmann, P., & Waldhardt, R. (2022). Farming intensity affects soil seedbank composition and spontaneous vegetation of arable weeds. Diversity, 14(2), 111.
Kumar, S., Rana, S. S., Hetta, G., & Rana, N. (2022). Understanding and managing weed seed banks: A review. Agricultural Reviews, 45(3), 508-513.
McKenzie-Gopsill, A., Nyiraneza, J., & Fillmore, S. (2024). Effects of cultural practices on weed community and seedbank dynamics in a potato rotation. Field Crops Research, 310, 109357.
McKenzie-Gopsill, A., Nyiraneza, J., Arseneault, H., Lynch, D., & Fraser, T. (2025). Weed seedbank community structure’s response to land-use intensity and its relationships to soil properties in Atlantic Canada. Weed Science, 73(1), e58.
Nath, C. P., Hazra, K. K., Kumar, N., Singh, S. S., Praharaj, C. S., Singh, U., ... & Nandan, R. (2022). Impact of crop rotation with chemical and organic fertilization on weed seed density, species diversity, and community structure after 13 years. Crop Protection, 153, 105860.
Ramessh, C. (2022). Weed seed bank and weed population as influenced by weed management practices in rice var Co 54.
Ren, Z., Gibson, D. J., Gage, K. L., Matthews, J. L., Owen, M. D., Jordan, D. L., ... & Young, B. G. (2024). Exploring the effect of region on diversity and composition of weed seedbanks in herbicide‐resistant crop systems in the United States. Pest Management Science, 80(3), 1446-1453.
Sharshar, A. A. H., Shahen, M., Ali, E. F., Majrashi, A., Eid, S. D., Khaffagy, A. E., & Ageba, M. F. (2022). Improving integrated management of weed control by determination of weed seed bank in sandy and clay soil. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 29(4), 3023-3032.
