The researchers studied soil seed banks in a degraded mountainous area in Southwest China. They looked at the storage, distribution, and types of seeds in different rehabilitated communities and local vegetation. They found that the number of seeds and species in the soil increased in the rehabilitated areas compared to the local vegetation. Herb species were the most common in the soil seed banks, with some dominant species like Eupatorium adenophorum and Ageratum conyzoides. The distribution of seeds varied in different soil layers, with significant differences between community types. Overall, the study shows that rehabilitation efforts can increase the diversity and abundance of seeds in the soil.