Soil seed bank diversity, composition, and structure along vertical soil layers in Libo Kemkem District, Northwestern Ethiopia

Anthropogenic pressures have severely degraded Ethiopia’s dry Afromontane forests. Conversely, how continuous degradation affects vertical soil seed banks (SSB) and floristic matching in unmanaged communal remnants remains poorly understood. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing the diversity, composition, and vertical structure (0–3, 3–6, and 6–9 cm) of the SSB in the degraded RasAmba forest contrasting it with aboveground vegetation. Using the seedling emergence method across 90 sample points 2890 seedlings belonging to 36 species across 16 families emerged. The SSB functions as an early successional weed reservoir heavily dominated by resourceful, wind-dispersed herbaceous taxa (77.78%) primarily from Asteraceae and Poaceae. Seed abundance and richness exhibit sharp depth-dependent declines, concentrating viable seeds in the highly vulnerable 0–3 cm surface layer. A minimal Jaccard similarity index (J = 0.0481) highlights a pronounced regeneration bottleneck, demonstrating that the depleted soil seed bank lacks sufficient native woody species for autonomous recovery. Consequently, passive restoration relying solely on natural recruitment will be insufficient to rehabilitate these fragile mountain landscapes. Successful recovery will instead require active intervention strategies, such as enrichment planting with indigenous trees, community-managed exclosures, and targeted soil conservation measures.