Abstract: Bud bank is the aggregation of all buds that can be potentially used for vegetative regeneration. Both bud bank and seed bank compose the propagule bank which plays an important role in vegetation maintenance and recruitment. This paper summarized the research progress on bud bank from the aspects of 1) distinction and relations between bud bank and seed bank, 2) classification of bud bank, 3) effects of environmental factors on the establishment and dynamics of bud bank, 4) applications of theoretic models (e.g., matrix model, trigonometric function, and Markov model) in bud bank study, and 5) relationships between bud bank and aboveground vegetation. Future researches should pay more attention on the bud banks of different ecosystems, the relative contribution of bud bank and seed bank to the regeneration of aboveground vegetation, and the applications of bud bank in vegetation restoration and reconstruction.

Key words: Cultivated way, Slope field, Red soil, Loss of phosphorus