SummarySoil samples were taken along transects cut through thickets of Rubus polyanthemos at three sites, the seeds were extracted by flotation, and the viability of filled seeds of R. polyanthemos determined by staining with tetrazolium chloride. Exotic annual species were the dominant component of the soil flora at two sites formerly undercultivation and a change in seed bank composition, both in number of individuals and numberof species, was evident from the exterior to the interior of the thickets. This was not observed in a relatively undisturbed native community. The apparent absence of suitable replacement species in the seed bank at all three sites means that they must be introduced if the sites are to be rehabilitated after the thickets are removed. Viable seeds of R. polyanthemos were present in relatively low numbers (mean 179 m−2:), so that loss of viability appears to be fairly rapi