scholarly journals Seed Germination Traits and the Potential for Soil Seed Bank Formation of a Threatened Plant, Eupatorium japonicum Thunb.

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 693-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukio HONDA ◽  
Kouji ITOH ◽  
Kazuhiro KATOH
2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Wills ◽  
Jennifer Read

Various fire-related agents, including heat, smoke, ash and charred wood, have been shown to break dormancy and promote germination of soil-stored seed in a broad range of species in mediterranean-type systems. However, relatively little work has been conducted in south-eastern Australian heathlands. This study examined the effects of heat and smoked water on germination of the soil seed bank in a mature sand heathland within the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park, in south-eastern Australia. Heat was clearly the most successful treatment for promoting seed germination, followed by smoked water, then controls, with 55% of species present in the germinable soil seed bank requiring a heat or smoke stimulus to promote seed germination. Mean species richness of the germinable soil seed bank was found to be significantly higher in heat-treated soil than in smoke and control treatments. Seedling density of heat-treated soil was almost 10 times that of controls, while smoke-treated soil was almost five times that of controls. Seedling emergence was fastest in heat-treated soil, followed by smoke and control soils. Of the species found in the soil seed bank, 25% were absent from the extant vegetation, suggesting the existence of post-fire colonisers in the soil seed bank. The results have implications for the design of soil seed bank experiments and the use of fire as a tool in vegetation management.


2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromitsu Kisanuki ◽  
Hisae Oguro ◽  
Arisa Nakai ◽  
Suzuki Setsuko ◽  
Naoyuki Nishimura ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-248
Author(s):  
Simon Kallow ◽  
Rachael Davies ◽  
Bart Panis ◽  
Steven B. Janssens ◽  
Filip Vandelook ◽  
...  

AbstractSeed conservation of banana crop wild relatives (Musa L. spp.) is limited because of lack of knowledge about their germination ecology. Musa acuminata Colla, the most important banana crop wild relative, is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asian and Pacific rainforests and colonizes disturbed sites. The role of temperature in stimulating/inhibiting germination to detect disturbance when canopy gaps are formed is not well known. We assessed seed germination thermal requirements of three subspecies of M. acuminata using nine seed accessions which had been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank. Diurnally alternating temperature cycles were almost completely essential for germination compared with constant temperatures. Germination was optimal when the upper temperature of a diurnal cycle was at 35°C; the lower temperature of the cycle was less important. Subspecies occurrence coordinates were used to extract climate temperature data which were then compared against the temperature requirements for germination from our experiment results. Maximum temperatures of the warmest month across subspecies ranges were close to but below optimal germination temperatures, as were diurnal ranges, suggesting soil-warming at the micro-climate level following gap creation is important for M. acuminata seed germination. Additionally, pre-treatment for 3 months at 60% relative humidity at constant 25°C improved germination from 14 ± 10 (mean, standard deviation) to 41 ± 29% suggesting a period in the soil seed bank under the canopy may increase sensitivity to alternating temperature cycles. Overall viability was low (49 ± 28%), and considerable variance was caused by the different accessions. Germination remained somewhat inconsistent.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. ASGARPOUR ◽  
R. GHORBANI ◽  
M. KHAJEH-HOSSEINI ◽  
F. GOLZARDI ◽  
M.N. ILKAEE

ABSTRACT: Seed longevity under different environmental conditions is considered as one of the most important factors in the spread and persistence of an exotic species. The Experiments were conducted to determine seed persistence in soil, effects of submergence in water, flooding of the soil, and high temperatures on germination and viability of spotted spurge (Chamaesyce maculata) and wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla) as two exotic species in different regions of Golestan province. Spotted spurge seeds buried at depth of 10 cm maintained their viability above 95% after a year, while wild poinsettia seeds were destroyed completely after exhuming the soil. Seeds of both species were unable to germinate under submergence, but 92% of the spotted spurge seeds remained viable under this condition for 14 d. No germination was observed after 9 weeks submersion. Submersion duration drastically affected seed germination of wild poinsettia, so that no germination occurred after 6 d submersion. Twelve days after flooding, spotted spurge emergence decreased by 57% compared to the control. Ten percentage of wild poinsettia seedlings emerged when flooding was kept up to 12 d after sowing, while control had 96% emergence. Germination of spotted spurge seeds subjected to 140 oC for 5 min was 5%. Viability of wild poinsettia seed was completely lost at 120 and 140 C for 5 min. These results suggest that spotted spurge is capable of forming persistent seedbank. Seeds of spotted spurge were partially tolerant to submersion in water, but wild poinsettia seed are susceptible to submergence. The burning of crop residue could also prevent augmenting the soil seed bank of both species.


2012 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Refaat Mohamed Gad ◽  
Saadia Shehata Kelan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M.U.S Bandara ◽  
◽  
T.K Ilangakoon ◽  
H.M.M.K.K.H Dissanayaka ◽  
Y.M.S.H.I.U De Silva ◽  
...  

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenting Liu ◽  
Tianle Wang ◽  
Shuang Zhang ◽  
Lijun Ding ◽  
Zhijun Wei

Seed germination plays an important role in determining the composition and regeneration of plant populations (Stipa breviflora). However, the influencing factors and strategies employed for seed germination in desert grasslands under grazing remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, the reproductive allocation, seed density, seed properties, and corresponding seed germination rates of S. breviflora were examined. Possible situations encountered during dispersal were also simulated to determine their effects on seed germination. The results showed that reproductive individual density not subjected to grazing were significantly higher than those subjected to moderate and heavy grazing. For seed density and seed bank in soil, the highest values were observed for the no grazing treatment, followed by the moderate and heavy grazing treatments. The seed density for germination of soil seed banks was nearly one-fourth of seed density during the growing season. In addition, grazing treatments affected the phenotypic characteristics of seeds and reduced the lower limit of the weight of germinable seeds. Awn removal significantly increased germination. The longest germination time was observed for seeds that entered the soil at an angle of 0°. Our research demonstrated that grazing negatively affected the desert grassland edificator. Individual plants adopted different adaptation strategies under different grazing intensities; for example, a fixed proportion of the seed number and seed germination number of S. breviflora in the soil seed bank was maintained by exceeding the minimum weight of a seed for seed germination. During seed dispersion, the awn effectively prevented germination under unfavourable conditions and helped seeds enter the soil at an optimal angle for promoting germination.


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