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Legumes are an important component of pastures, improving forage productivity and quality through biologically fixed nitrogen, and thereby reduce input costs. Management actions such as grazing systems, stocking rates, or the use of inputs (e.g. broadleaf herbicides, manure or fertilizer), can eliminate legume presence and biomass. Repopulating pastures with legumes often occurs via volunteer establishment from the seed bank. Success of this process depends on a many factors including micro-site availability, competition for light, and disturbances from grazing. Our objective was to determine the presence and abundance of legume seeds and other vegetation (i.e. forages and weeds) in a standardized volume of soil sampled from 102 pastures across central Alberta, Canada during 2012 and 2013. At each pasture, 53 soil cores, 3.25 cm in diameter and 6 cm deep, were extracted 5 m apart in a W-shaped configuration. Cores from each pasture were bulked, placed in a greenhouse for 12 months, and emergent seedlings counted after positive identification. Management was determined retrospectively by interviewing landowners to gather information on pasture age, planting history, fertilization regime, and disturbance history, including grazing and herbicide use. Survey results were accompanied by a range health assessment. Significant management factors were identified using multivariate techniques (perMANOVA and NMDS). Ultimately, this information will link seed bank composition of pastures to particular management regimes, and thereby identify which management practices may produce seed banks capable of facilitating legume re-establishment.