Germination strategies of 20 alpine species with varying seed mass and light availability
Gao-Lin Wu A B , Guo-Zhen Du B and Zhi-Hua Shi A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 26 Xinong Road, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, P.R. China.
B State Key Laboratory of Glassland and Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui Sourth Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, P.R. China.
C Corresponding author. Email: shizhihua70@gmail.com
Australian Journal of Botany 61(5) 404-411 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT12119
Submitted: 15 May 2012 Accepted: 1 July 2013 Published: 25 July 2013
Abstract
Seed germination is a central component of plant life history. To investigate the proposed role of seed size on germination strategy in plant communities, a semifield experiment was conducted in alpine meadow of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China. Interspecies relationships of seed mass and seed germination characteristics were studied under semifield conditions with different light availability. Light availability and seed mass had significant effects on final germination percentage and time to germination for studied species. There was a significant negative correlation between the strength of light required for germination and seed mass. Fifteen study species (e.g. Ligularia przewalskii, Artemisia sieversiana Willd, Tripolium vulgare Ness. and Saussurea morifolia Chen) exhibited a synchronous germination strategy. Seeds from large-seeded species, such as Dracocephalum ruyschiana, Laniophlomis rotate (Benth.) and Salvia przewalskii Maxim., were less likely to require light for germination than those of small-seeded species, such as A. sieversiana Willd, Senecio diversipinnus Ling and Saussurea mongolica (Franch.). We propose that germination strategies of small-seeded species are well suited to unpredictable environmental variation in this alpine grassland community.
Additional keyword: species-specific response.
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