Role of soil seed bank on persistency of pastures in tropical grasslands of Kangayam

摘要

The semiarid grasslands spread over a wider area in the rain shadow region covering four districts viz., Erode, Karur, Coimbatore and Nammakkal of Tamil Nadu in India is unique whose continuous existence were traced up to 18th March 1865, the inception of formal land record.The spread of grassland is about 140 km in east west direction and 95 km in the north south direction with a perimeter of approximately about 480 km.The pattern of land use system with Cenchrus as dominating spp is being maintained over centuries on sustainable manner with minimum interference and cultivation of land.The grass spp Cenchrus, live fence Balsamodendron berryi supporting the system of pasture paddock maintained by private ownership had contributed to development of famous cattle breed.Kangayam.better known for its draught power.The present experiment conducted to elucidate the role of soil seed bank contributing to the persistency of this unique grassland system.