Regenerated plants from accumulated soil seed banks for soft capping on the Great Wall heritage site

Our team has proposed the potential of using seed bank regenerated plants (SBR-plants) from accumulated soil on the top surface of the Great Wall to form a “soft capping” structure. This study aims to clarify the diversity characteristics and practical applicability of these SBR-plants. Taking the Dazhuangke Great Wall heritage site in Beijing as the study area, we collected accumulated soil from the top surface of the site and mountain soil as a control, and conducted indoor germination experiments. The results indicate: (1) there are 35 species of SBR-plants, belonging to 19 families and 30 genera; (2) significant differences exist in the species composition and abundance of SBR-plants across different slope gradients and slope surface positions; (3) annual and biennial herbaceous SBR-plants germinate readily and exhibit faster growth rates than other types. These results provide a theoretical reference for the practical application of “soft capping” protection for the Great Wall.