Dataset Information

Soil seed burial and competition with surrounding plants determine the emergence and development of seedling of an endangered species Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. in China.

ABSTRACT: Three well-conserved Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. populations were used to investigate their soil seed bank and seedling regeneration characteristics and their relationship to environmental factors. The results showed that the seed reserves were low in the H. hainanensis soil seed bank (16.93~24.74 seed/m²). The distribution pattern for the seeds and seedlings in the H. hainanensis populations was aggregated, and they were mainly found around 2-3?m from the mother plant. The seeds in the litter layer and the 5-10?cm soil layer showed no vigor, and only 25.7%~33.3% of the total seeds in the 0-5?cm soil layer were viable affected by the high temperature and humidity, the animals' eating and poisoning. Affected by the height and coverage of the surrounding herbaceous layer and shrub layer, the seedlings of H. hainanensis could not obtain enough light and nutrients in the competition, resulting in the survival competitiveness of 1- to 3-year-old (1-3a) seedlings in the habitat had been in a weak position and a large number of seedlings died. It would take at least four years for seedlings to develop under the current environmental constraints. It can be concluded that the low seed reserve in the soil seed bank and high mortality of seedlings of H. hainanensis lead to slow or even stagnation of population regeneration, which was an important reason for the endangered of H. hainanensis. Therefore, the next research focus is to explore the influence mechanism of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling growth of H. hainanensis.

SUBMITTER: Liu X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6884613 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Soil seed burial and competition with surrounding plants determine the emergence and development of seedling of an endangered species Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. in China.

Liu Xiongsheng X He Yinghui Y Xiao Yufei Y Wang Yong Y Jiang Yinghong Y Jiang Yi Y

Scientific reports 20191129 1

Three well-conserved Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. populations were used to investigate their soil seed bank and seedling regeneration characteristics and their relationship to environmental factors. The results showed that the seed reserves were low in the H. hainanensis soil seed bank (16.93~24.74 seed/m<sup>2</sup>). The distribution pattern for the seeds and seedlings in the H. hainanensis populations was aggregated, and they were mainly found around 2-3 m from the mother plant. The seeds in ...[more]

PMID: 31784657

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Project description:Background and aimsThe shrub Viburnum tinus is widely distributed in mattoral vegetation of the Mediterranean basin. The purpose of the present study was to classify the seed dormancy type and examine the requirements for embryo growth, root protrusion and shoot emergence.MethodsOverwintered fruits were collected in western Spain in April 2001 and prepared in three ways: entire pericarp was removed, exocarp and mesocarp were removed or fruits were left intact. Fruits treated in these three ways were subjected to artificial annual temperature cycles or to constant temperature regimes for 1.5 years.Key resultsRemoval of exocarp and mesocarp was necessary for embryo growth and germination. High temperature favoured dormancy alleviation and embryo growth, intermediate to low temperatures favoured root protrusion, and intermediate temperature shoot emergence. There was substantial germination at constant temperature regimes, indicating an overlap between temperature intervals suitable for the different stages of embryo and seedling development. Functionally, V. tinus has the same root and shoot emergence pattern that is described for other Viburnum species considered to have epicotyl dormancy. However, the requirement for high and low temperatures for radicle protrusion and epicotyl emergence, respectively, was missing in V. tinus; these characters are the foundation for the epicotyl dormancy classification.ConclusionsIt is concluded that V. tinus does not have epicotyl dormancy. Instead, there is a combination of a weak morphophysiological dormancy and a slow germination process, where different temperatures during an annual cycle favour different development stages. The present study suggests that the first complete seedlings would emerge in the field 1.5 years after fruit maturation in October, i.e. seed dispersal during winter, embryo growth during the first summer, root protrusion and establishment during the second autumn and winter, and cotyledon emergence during the second spring.

Dataset Information

Soil seed burial and competition with surrounding plants determine the emergence and development of seedling of an endangered species Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. in China.

Publications

Soil seed burial and competition with surrounding plants determine the emergence and development of seedling of an endangered species Horsfieldia hainanensis Merr. in China.

Similar Datasets

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