Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests
Podocarpus angustifolius is an endangered recalcitrant-seeded small tree, endemic to mountain rain forests in the central and Pinar del Río regions in Cuba. In this study, the germination patterns of P. angustifolius seeds were evaluated and the nature of the soil seed bank was determined. Using a w...
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Vicerractoría Investigación
2011-09-01
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Series: | Revista de Biología Tropical |
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Online Access: | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442011000300008&lng=en&tlng=en |
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author | Pablo Ferrandis Marta Bonilla Licet del Carmen Osorio |
author_facet | Pablo Ferrandis Marta Bonilla Licet del Carmen Osorio |
author_sort | Pablo Ferrandis |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Podocarpus angustifolius is an endangered recalcitrant-seeded small tree, endemic to mountain rain forests in the central and Pinar del Río regions in Cuba. In this study, the germination patterns of P. angustifolius seeds were evaluated and the nature of the soil seed bank was determined. Using a weighted two-factor design, we analyzed the combined germination response to seed source (i.e. freshly matured seeds directly collected from trees versus seeds extracted from soil samples) and pretreatment (i.e. seed water-immersion for 48h at room temperature). Germination was delayed for four weeks (≈30 days) in all cases, regardless of both factors analyzed. Moreover, nine additional days were necessary to achieve high germination values (in the case of fresh, pretreated seeds). These results overall may indicate the existence of a non-deep simple morphophysiological dormancy in P. angustifolius seeds. The water-immersion significantly enhanced seed germination, probably as a result of the hydration of recalcitrant seeds. Although germination of seeds extracted from soil samples was low, probably due to aging and pathogen effects throughout the time of burial, the study revealed the existence of a persistent soil seed bank (at least short-termed) of ≈42 viable seeds per m² in the upper 10cm of soil. Such a record is noteworthy since references to persistent soil seed banks in recalcitrant-seeded species are scarce in the literature. The population consequences derived from the formation of persistent soil seed banks in this endangered species are discussed. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (3): 1061-1069. Epub 2011 September 01. |
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id | doaj.art-8770eb58700c4790b2e79b91e8dee460 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0034-7744 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:04:02Z |
publishDate | 2011-09-01 |
publisher | Vicerractoría Investigación |
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series | Revista de Biología Tropical |
spelling | doaj.art-8770eb58700c4790b2e79b91e8dee4602023-09-02T19:41:25ZengVicerractoría InvestigaciónRevista de Biología Tropical0034-77442011-09-0159310611069S0034-77442011000300008Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forestsPablo Ferrandis0Marta Bonilla1Licet del Carmen Osorio2Instituto Botánico de la Universidad de Castilla La ManchaUniversidad de Pinar del RíoEstación Territorial de Protección de PlantasPodocarpus angustifolius is an endangered recalcitrant-seeded small tree, endemic to mountain rain forests in the central and Pinar del Río regions in Cuba. In this study, the germination patterns of P. angustifolius seeds were evaluated and the nature of the soil seed bank was determined. Using a weighted two-factor design, we analyzed the combined germination response to seed source (i.e. freshly matured seeds directly collected from trees versus seeds extracted from soil samples) and pretreatment (i.e. seed water-immersion for 48h at room temperature). Germination was delayed for four weeks (≈30 days) in all cases, regardless of both factors analyzed. Moreover, nine additional days were necessary to achieve high germination values (in the case of fresh, pretreated seeds). These results overall may indicate the existence of a non-deep simple morphophysiological dormancy in P. angustifolius seeds. The water-immersion significantly enhanced seed germination, probably as a result of the hydration of recalcitrant seeds. Although germination of seeds extracted from soil samples was low, probably due to aging and pathogen effects throughout the time of burial, the study revealed the existence of a persistent soil seed bank (at least short-termed) of ≈42 viable seeds per m² in the upper 10cm of soil. Such a record is noteworthy since references to persistent soil seed banks in recalcitrant-seeded species are scarce in the literature. The population consequences derived from the formation of persistent soil seed banks in this endangered species are discussed. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (3): 1061-1069. Epub 2011 September 01.http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442011000300008&lng=en&tlng=enplanta en peligro de extinciónletargo morfofisiológicobanco de semillas del suelo persistentetratamiento pregerminativosemillas recalcitrantes |
spellingShingle | Pablo Ferrandis Marta Bonilla Licet del Carmen Osorio Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests Revista de Biología Tropical planta en peligro de extinción letargo morfofisiológico banco de semillas del suelo persistente tratamiento pregerminativo semillas recalcitrantes |
title | Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests |
title_full | Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests |
title_fullStr | Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests |
title_full_unstemmed | Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests |
title_short | Germination and soil seed bank traits of Podocarpus angustifolius (Podocarpaceae): an endemic tree species from Cuban rain forests |
title_sort | germination and soil seed bank traits of podocarpus angustifolius podocarpaceae an endemic tree species from cuban rain forests |
topic | planta en peligro de extinción letargo morfofisiológico banco de semillas del suelo persistente tratamiento pregerminativo semillas recalcitrantes |
url | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442011000300008&lng=en&tlng=en |
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