Persistent soil seed banks promote naturalisation and invasiveness in flowering plants.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gioria M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8361993 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background and aimsRock pools are small, geologically stable freshwater ecosystems that are both hydrologically and biologically isolated. They harbour high levels of plant endemism and experience environmental unpredictability driven by the presence of water over variable temporal scales. This study examined the hypothesis that the sediment seed bank in monsoon tropical freshwater rock pools would persist through one or more periods of desiccation, with seed dormancy regulating germination timing in response to rock pool inundation and drying events.MethodsSeeds were collected from seven dominant rock pool species, and germination biology and seed dormancy were assessed under laboratory conditions in response to light, temperature and germination stimulators (gibberellic acid, karrikinolide and ethylene). Field surveys of seedling emergence from freshwater rock pools in the Kimberley region of Western Australia were undertaken, and sediment samples were collected from 41 vegetated rock pools. Seedling emergence and seed bank persistence in response to multiple wetting and drying cycles were determined.Key resultsThe sediment seed bank of individual rock pools was large (13 824 ± 307 to 218 320 ± 42 412 seeds m(-2) for the five species investigated) and spatially variable. Seedling density for these same species in the field ranged from 13 696 to 87 232 seedlings m(-2). Seeds of rock pool taxa were physiologically dormant, with germination promoted by after-ripening and exposure to ethylene or karrikinolide. Patterns of seedling emergence varied between species and were finely tuned to seasonal temperature and moisture conditions, with the proportions of emergent seedlings differing between species through multiple inundation events. A viable seed bank persisted after ten consecutive laboratory inundation events, and seeds retained viability in dry sediments for at least 3 years.ConclusionsThe persistent seed bank in freshwater rock pools is likely to provide resilience to plant communities against environmental stochasticity. Since rock pool communities are often comprised of highly specialized endemic and range-restricted species, sediment seed banks may represent significant drivers of species persistence and diversification in these ecosystems.
| S-EPMC4373295 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Soil seed banks represent a critical but hidden stock for potential future plant diversity on Earth. Here we compiled and analyzed a global dataset consisting of 15,698 records of species diversity and density for soil seed banks in natural plant communities worldwide to quantify their environmental determinants and global patterns. Random forest models showed that absolute latitude was an important predictor for diversity of soil seed banks. Further, climate and soil were the major determinants of seed bank diversity, while net primary productivity and soil characteristics were the main predictors of seed bank density. Moreover, global mapping revealed clear spatial patterns for soil seed banks worldwide; for instance, low densities may render currently species-rich low latitude biomes (such as tropical rain-forests) less resilient to major disturbances. Our assessment provides quantitative evidence of how environmental conditions shape the distribution of soil seed banks, which enables a more accurate prediction of the resilience and vulnerabilities of plant communities and biomes under global changes.
| S-EPMC8639999 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Flowering plants represent the most significant branch in the tree of land plants, with respect to the number of extant species, their impact on the shaping of modern ecosystems and their economic importance. However, unlike so many persistent phylogenetic problems that have yielded to insights from DNA sequence data, the mystery surrounding the origin of angiosperms has deepened with the advent and advance of molecular systematics. Strong statistical support for competing hypotheses and recent novel trees from molecular data suggest that the accuracy of current molecular trees requires further testing. Analyses of phytochrome amino acids using a duplicate gene-rooting approach yield trees that unite cycads and angiosperms in a clade that is sister to a clade in which Gingko and Cupressophyta are successive sister taxa to gnetophytes plus Pinaceae. Application of a cycads + angiosperms backbone constraint in analyses of a morphological dataset yields better resolved trees than do analyses in which extant gymnosperms are forced to be monophyletic. The results have implications both for our assessment of uncertainty in trees from sequence data and for our use of molecular constraints as a way to integrate insights from morphological and molecular evidence.
| S-EPMC2838261 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAlthough the effect of water level on germination in soil seed banks has been documented in many ecosystems, the mechanism is not fully understood, and to date no empirical studies on this subject exist. Further, no work has been done on the effect of water level on seed banks of drying and saline-alkaline wetlands in alpine areas on the Tibetan Plateau.MethodologyWe examined the effects of water level (0 cm, 5 cm and 10 cm) on seed germination and seedling establishment from soil seed banks at 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm depths in typical, drying, and saline-alkaline wetlands. We also explore the potential role of soil seed bank in restoration of drying and saline-alkaline wetlands.Principal findingsSpecies richness decreased with increase in water level, but there almost no change in seed density. A huge difference exists in species composition of the seed bank among different water levels in all three wetlands, especially between 0 cm and 5 cm and 0 cm and 10 cm. Similarity of species composition between seed bank and plant community was higher in 0 cm water level in drying wetland than in the other two wetlands. The similarity was much higher in 0 cm water level than in 5 cm and 10 cm water levels in all three wetlands. Species composition of the alpine wetland plant community changed significantly after drying and salinization, however, species composition of the seed bank was unchanged regardless of the environment change.Conclusions/significanceWater level greatly affects seed bank recruitment and plant community establishment. Further, different water levels in restored habitats are likely to determine its species composition of the plant community. The seed bank is important in restoration of degraded wetlands. Successful restoration of drying and salinization wetlands could depend on the seed bank.
| S-EPMC4077783 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Plant small RNAs are important regulatory elements that fine-tune gene expression and maintain genome integrity by silencing transposons. Reproductive organs of monocots produce abundant phased, small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs). The 21-nt reproductive phasiRNAs triggered by miR2118 are highly enriched in pre-meiotic anthers, and have been found in multiple eudicot species, in contrast with prior reports of monocot specificity. The 24-nt reproductive phasiRNAs are triggered by miR2275, and are highly enriched during meiosis in many angiosperms. Here, we report the widespread presence of the 21-nt reproductive phasiRNA pathway in eudicots including canonical and non-canonical microRNA (miRNA) triggers of this pathway. In eudicots, these 21-nt phasiRNAs are enriched in pre-meiotic stages, a spatiotemporal distribution consistent with that of monocots and suggesting a role in anther development. Although this pathway is apparently absent in well-studied eudicot families including the Brassicaceae, Solanaceae and Fabaceae, our work in eudicots supports an earlier singular finding in spruce, a gymnosperm, indicating that the pathway of 21-nt reproductive phasiRNAs emerged in seed plants and was lost in some lineages.
| S-EPMC8368212 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In the last decades, biological invasions become the main driver of biodiversity loss. The changes can be noticed not only in the above-ground diversity but also in the underground, including seed banks of native vegetation. In this study, we focus on Rudbeckia laciniata, a species introduced to many European and Asian countries, to characterize its soil seed bank as well as to answer the question, how the species influenced soil seed banks of meadow plant communities in two types of habitats (fresh and wet), where traditional mowing was abandoned. Within the habitats, we conducted our study on a three-step scale of invasion, from full invasion, through the transition zone to the control zone, where no invasion of the species has been observed so far. The majority of the R. laciniata seeds were located in the surface layer of soil. We detected, that 47% (in fresh meadow) and 56% (wet meadow) of recorded species occurred only in a soil seed bank, and were absent in aboveground vegetation. Emergence of native plants from the soil seed bank is low due to rapid shading of the soil surface by R. laciniata seedlings. However, a short-term seed bank of the species gives hope that returning to regular mowing brings the desired results in its the elimination from vegetation, in a fairly short time.
| S-EPMC9242978 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and aimsKin selection theory predicts that a parent may minimize deleterious effects of competition among seeds developing within ovaries by increasing the genetic relatedness of seeds within an ovary. Alternatively, the number of developing seeds could be reduced to one or a few. It has also been suggested that single or few seeded fruits may be correlated with small flowers, and multi-ovulate ovaries or many seeded fruits may be associated with large flowers with specialized pollination mechanisms. We examined the correlation between flower size and seed number in 69 families of monocotyledons to assess if correlations are significant and independent of phylogeny.MethodsWe first examined the effect of phylogenetic history on the evolution of these two traits, flower size and seed number, and then mapped correlations between them on the latest phylogenetic tree of monocotyledons.ResultsThe results provide phylogenetically robust evidence of strong correlated evolution between flower size and seed number and show that correlated evolution of traits is not constrained by phylogenetic history of taxa. Moreover, the two character combinations, small flowers and a single or few seeds per fruit, and large flowers and many seeded fruits, have persisted in monocotyledons longer than other trait combinations.ConclusionsThe analyses support the suggestion that most angiosperms may fall into two categories, one with large flowers and many seeded fruits and the other with small flowers and single or few seeded fruits, and kin selection within ovaries may explain the observed patterns.
| S-EPMC6344089 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and aimsMany studies have analysed the mechanisms that determine plant coexistence in standing vegetation, but the determinants of soil seed bank species assemblies have rarely been studied. In gypsum soil communities, aerial vegetation and seed banks are tightly connected in space and time, but the mechanisms involved in their organization may differ. The aim of this study is to understand the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors controlling soil seed bank composition and structure.MethodsPersistent and complete (i.e. persistent plus transient) soil seed banks were investigated at two spatial scales in a very species-rich semi-arid community dominated by annuals. A water addition treatment equivalent to 50 % annual increase in average precipitation (abiotic factor) was applied for two consecutive years, and the relationships of the soil seed bank to the biological soil crust (BSC), above-ground vegetation and the presence of Stipa tenacissima tussocks (biotic factors) were simultaneously evaluated.Key resultsAs expected, the standing vegetation was tightly related to seed abundance, species richness and composition in both seed banks. Remarkably, BSC cover was linked to a decrease in seed abundance and species richness in the persistent seed bank, and it even determined complete seed bank composition at the fine spatial scale. However, this effect disappeared at coarser scales, probably because of the high spatial heterogeneity induced by BSCs. In contrast to findings on standing vegetation, Stipa and the irrigation treatment for two consecutive years had no effect on soil seed banks.ConclusionsSoil seed bank assemblies in our semi-arid plant community were the result of above-ground vegetation dynamics and of the direct filtering processes on seed fate operated by the spatially heterogeneous BSCs. Cover of BSCs was negatively correlated with seed abundance and species richness, and affected seed species composition in the soil. Changes in species composition and enrichment when the BSC cover is low suggest that BSCs promote a fine scale niche differentiation in the soil seed bank and thereby potentially enhance species coexistence and high species diversity in these communities.
| S-EPMC4904168 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Methods for Quick DNA Barcode Reference Library Construction
| PRJNA608619 | ENA
Project description:Microbial dormancy leads to the emergence of seed banks in environmental, engineered, and host-associated ecosystems. These seed banks act as reservoirs of diversity that allow microbes to persist under adverse conditions, including extreme limitation of resources. While microbial seed banks may be influenced by macroscale factors, such as the supply of resources, the importance of microscale encounters between organisms and resource particles is often overlooked. We hypothesized that dimensions of spatial, trophic, and resource complexity determine rates of encounter, which in turn, drive the abundance, productivity, and size of seed banks. We tested this using >10,000 stochastic individual based models (IBMs) that simulated energetic, physiological, and ecological processes across combinations of resource, spatial, and trophic complexity. These IBMs allowed realistic dynamics and the emergence of seed banks from ecological selection on random variation in species traits. Macroscale factors like the supply and concentration of resources had little effect on resource encounter rates. In contrast, encounter rates were strongly influenced by interactions between dispersal mode and spatial structure, and also by the recalcitrance of resources. In turn, encounter rates drove abundance, productivity, and seed bank dynamics. Time series revealed that energetically costly traits can lead to large seed banks and that recalcitrant resources can lead to greater stability through the formation of seed banks and the slow consumption of resources. Our findings suggest that microbial seed banks emerge from microscale dimensions of ecological complexity and their influence on resource limitation and energetic costs.
| S-EPMC5220057 | biostudies-literature