Abstract:

Roadcut slopes are artificially created habitats constantly affected by human disturbance. The revegetation of these slopes has long challenged forestry managers due to the dual constraints of seed availability and harsh conditions. Despite advancements in slope revegetation techniques, resulting plant communities often lack naturalness and sustainability. A key reason for this lies in the oversight of current restoration techniques, neglecting the formation patterns and potential roles of plant traits in the community assembly process. Functional trait analysis of plants is now a fundamental tool for understanding ecological processes and patterns in plant communities. However, the significance of seed functional traits, particularly those closely tied to community assembly processes like seed dispersal, deposition, and germination, is frequently underestimated. To enhance our understanding of the role of seed traits in community assembly, this paper reviews existing research based on the biotic and abiotic characteristics of roadside slope environments and their associated ecological constraints. The analysis identifies key factors influencing plant colonization on roadcut slopes under natural conditions from a trait perspective. Additionally, the paper outlines the potential of seed traits in predicting community assembly and selecting suitable restoration plants. In general, seed traits related to dispersal, persistence, and germination play a crucial role in the successful colonization of plants on roadcut slopes. During the early stages of succession, source scarcity and harsh abiotic environments emerge as primary factors influencing the establishment of plant communities on slopes. Plants adapted to slope environments often employ unique ecological strategies in seed dispersal, deposition, and germination to cope with erosive runoff, arid conditions, and infertile environments. Summarizing these findings contributes to a deeper understanding of the assembly processes and patterns of early plant communities on roadcut slopes from the perspective of seed traits. This sheds light on the significant role and potential of seed traits in this process, providing theoretical support for research and practices in the revegetation of roadcut slopes, especially in sensitive areas.

Key words: plant traits, community assembly, environmental filtering, early plant community, revegetation