Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:45:36.100Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Seed mortality in the soil is related to seed coat thickness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2010

Antoine Gardarin
Affiliation:
INRA, AgroSup Dijon, UB, UMR 1210 Biologie et Gestion des Adventices, 21000Dijon, France
Carolyne Dürr
Affiliation:
INRA, UMR 1191 Physiologie Moléculaire des Semences, 49000Angers, France
Maria R. Mannino
Affiliation:
GEVES – Station Nationale d'Essai de Semences, 49000Beaucouzé, France
Hugues Busset
Affiliation:
INRA, AgroSup Dijon, UB, UMR 1210 Biologie et Gestion des Adventices, 21000Dijon, France
Nathalie Colbach*
Affiliation:
INRA, AgroSup Dijon, UB, UMR 1210 Biologie et Gestion des Adventices, 21000Dijon, France
*
*Correspondence Fax: +33 – (0)3 80 69 32 62 Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Models that quantify the effects of cropping systems on weed dynamics are useful tools for testing innovative cropping systems. In these models, seed mortality in the soil is a key parameter to account for the cumulated effect of cropping systems over time via the soil seed-bank. Since seed mortality is difficult to measure, our objective was to develop a method to estimate it from easily accessible information. Seeds of 13 weed species were buried 30 cm deep in fields and were recovered regularly for 2 years to measure their viability. Seed mass, dimensions, shape, and protein and lipid contents as well as coat thickness were measured. To estimate seed mortality of species not included in the study, we searched for relationships between mortality rates and seed traits. Seed viability mainly decreased during the second year of burial, with mortality rates ranging from 0.01 to 0.63 seeds·seeds− 1·year− 1, depending on the species. Seed mortality decreased with increasing seed coat thickness. No correlation was found with other measured traits or with seed persistence data in the literature. These results were confirmed when the effects of phylogenetic relatedness with phylogenetically independent contrasts were included. The thickness of the seed coat, which varied between 17 and 231 μm over the range of species studied, can protect the seed from external attacks in the soil and slow down seed decay. This trait can be easily measured via X-ray images and could be used to estimate the seed mortality rate for a wider range of species.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aitzetmüller, K., Matthaüs, B. and Friedrich, H. (2003) A new database for seed oil fatty acids – the database SOFA. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 105, 92103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
APG III (2009) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161, 105121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barclay, A.S. and Earle, F.R. (1974) Chemical analyses of seeds. III. Oil and protein content of 1253 species. Economic Botany 28, 178236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barralis, G., Chadoeuf, R. and Lonchamp, J. (1988) Longévité des semences de mauvaises herbes annuelles dans un sol cultivé. Weed Research 28, 407418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1998) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. San Diego, USA, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bekker, R.M., Bakker, J.P., Grandin, U., Kalamees, R., Milberg, P., Poschlod, P., Thompson, K. and Willems, J.H. (1998) Seed size, shape and vertical distribution in the soil: indicators of seed longevity. Functional Ecology 12, 834842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyd, N.S. and Van Acker, R.C. (2003) The effects of depth and fluctuating soil moisture on the emergence of eight annual and six perennial plant species. Weed Science 51, 725730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnside, O.C., Wilson, R.G., Weisberg, S. and Hubbard, K.G. (1996) Seed longevity of 41 weed species buried 17 years in eastern and western Nebraska. Weed Science 44, 7486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerabolini, B., Ceriani, R.M., Caccianiga, M., Andreis, R.D. and Raimondi, B. (2003) Seed size, shape and persistence in soil: a test on Italian flora from Alps to Mediterranean coasts. Seed Science Research 13, 7585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chee-Sanford, J.C., Williams, M.M. II, Davis, A.S.andSims, G.K. (2006) Do microorganisms influence seed-bank dynamics? Weed Science 54, 575587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clements, D.R., Weise, S.F. and Swanton, C.J. (1994) Integrated weed management and weed species diversity. Phytoprotection 75, 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colbach, N., Chauvel, B., Gauvrit, C. and Munier-Jolain, N.M. (2007) Construction and evaluation of ALOMYSYS modelling the effects of cropping systems on the blackgrass life-cycle: from seedling to seed production. Ecological Modelling 201, 283300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conn, J.S., Beattie, K.L. and Blanchard, A. (2006) Seed viability and dormancy of 17 weed species after 19.7 years of burial in Alaska. Weed Science 54, 464470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corbineau, F., Gay-Mathieu, C., Vinel, D. and Come, D. (2002) Decrease in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed viability caused by high temperature as related to energy metabolism, membrane damage and lipid composition. Physiologia Plantarum 116, 489496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, A.S., Schutte, B.J., Iannuzzi, J. and Renner, K.A. (2008) Chemical and physical defense of weed seeds in relation to soil seedbank persistence. Weed Science 56, 676684.Google Scholar
Earle, F.R. and Jones, Q. (1962) Analyses of seed samples from 113 plant families. Economic Botany 16, 211250.Google Scholar
Egley, G.H. and Chandler, J.M. (1983) Longevity of weed seeds after 5.5 years in the Stoneville 50-year buried-seed study. Weed Science 31, 264270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egley, G.H. and Williams, R.D. (1990) Decline of weed seeds and seedling emergence over five years as affected by soil disturbances. Weed Science 38, 504510.Google Scholar
Felsenstein, J. (1985) Phylogenies and the comparative method. The American Naturalist 125, 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flynn, S., Turner, R.M. and Stuppy, W.H. (2006) Seed Information Database (release 7.0, October 2006). Available athttp://www.kew.org/data/sid (accessed 30 August 2010).Google Scholar
Gardarin, A., Dürr, C. and Colbach, N. (2010) Effects of seed depth and soil structure on the emergence of weeds with contrasted seed traits. Weed Research 50, 91101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garland, T. Jr, Harvey, P.H. and Ives, A.R. (1992) Procedures for the analysis of comparative data using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Systematic Biology 41, 1832.Google Scholar
Grafen, A. (1989) The phylogenetic regression. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences 326, 119157.Google ScholarPubMed
Hansen, B. (1989) Determination of nitrogen as elementary N, an alternative to Kjeldhal. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 39, 113118.Google Scholar
Hendry, G.A.F., Thompson, K., Moss, C.J., Edwards, E. and Thorpe, P.C. (1994) Seed persistence: a correlation between seed longevity in the soil and ortho-dihydroxyphenol concentration. Functional Ecology 8, 658664.Google Scholar
Holm-Nielsen, C. (1998) Frø fra det dyrkede land. Flakkebjerg, Danemark, Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Frikeri, Danmarks JordbrugsForskning.Google Scholar
Holst, N., Rasmussen, I.A. and Bastiaans, L. (2007) Field weed population dynamics: a review of model approaches and applications. Weed Research 47, 114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulme, P.E. (1998) Post-dispersal seed predation: consequences for plant demography and evolution. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 1, 3246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, S., Johnels, A.G., Olsson, M. and Otterlind, G. (1972) DDT and PCB in herring and cod from the Baltic, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak. Ambio Special Report No. 1, 7185.Google Scholar
Jones, Q. and Earle, F.R. (1966) Chemical analyses of seeds II: oil and protein content of 759 species. Economic Botany 20, 127155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keddy, P.A. (1992) A pragmatic approach to functional ecology. Functional Ecology 6, 621626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, K.M., Staden, J.v. and Bell, W.E. (1992) Seed coat structure and dormancy. Plant Growth Regulation 11, 201209.Google Scholar
Kerguélen, M. and Bock, B. (2009) Base de données nomenclaturale de la flore de France, Tela Botanica. Available atwww.tela-botanica.org (accessed 30 August 2010).Google Scholar
Kim, S.-T. and Donoghue, M.J. (2009) Molecular phylogeny of Persicaria (Persicarieae, Polygonaceae). Systematic Botany 33, 7786.Google Scholar
Kühn, I., Durka, W. and Klotz, S. (2004) BiolFlor – a new plant-trait database as a tool for plant invasion ecology. Diversity and Distributions 10, 363365.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. (1973) Longevity of crop and weed seeds: survival after 20 years in soil. Weed Research 13, 179191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonchamp, J.P. and Gora, M. (1980) Évolution de la faculté germinative de semences de mauvaises herbes au cours de leur conservation au sec. Rapport interne INRA Malherbologie.Google Scholar
Majumdar, J.D.S. and Jayas, D. (2000) Classification of cereal grains using machine vision. I. Morphological models. American Society of Agricultural Engineers 43, 16691675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mariotti, F., Tome, D. and Mirand, P.P. (2008) Converting nitrogen into protein – beyond 6.25 and Jones' factors. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 48, 177184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masin, R., Zuin, M.C., Otto, S. and Zanin, G. (2006) Seed longevity and dormancy of four summer annual grass weeds in turf. Weed Research 46, 362370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohamed-Yasseen, Y., Barringer, S.A., Splittstoesser, W.E. and Costanza, S. (1994) The role of seed coats in seed viability. Botanical Review 60, 426439.Google Scholar
Montégut, J. (1975) Ecologie de la germination des semences. pp. 231in Chaussatet, R.; Deunff, Y.L. (Eds) La Germination des Semences. Paris, France, Bordas.Google Scholar
Moss, S.R. (1988) Influence of cultivations on the vertical distribution of weed seeds in the soil. pp. 7180in VIIIe colloque international sur la biologie, l'écologie et la systematique des mauvaises herbes, Dijon.Google Scholar
Muracciole, V., Plainchault, P., Bertrand, D. and Mannino, M.R. (2007) Development of an automated device for sorting seeds – application on sunflower seeds. ICINCO-RA 1, 311318.Google Scholar
Murdoch, A.J. and Ellis, R.H. (2000) Dormancy, viability and longevity. pp. 183214in Fenner, M. (Ed.) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. Wallingford, UK, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogé, L., Bourdais, G., Bove, J., Collet, B., Godin, B., Granier, F., Boutin, J.P., Job, D., Jullien, M. and Grappin, P. (2008) Protein repair l-isoaspartyl methyltransferase 1 is involved in both seed longevity and germination vigor in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 20, 30223037.Google Scholar
Ponquett, R.T., Smith, M.T. and Ross, G. (1992) Lipid autoxidation and seed ageing: putative relationships between seed longevity and lipid stability. Seed Science Research 2, 5154.Google Scholar
Priestley, D.A. (1986) Seed aging – implications for seed storage and persistence in the soil. New York, Comstock Publishing Associates.Google Scholar
Priestley, D.A., Cullinan, V.I. and Wolfe, J. (1985) Differences in seed longevity at the species level. Plant, Cell and Environment 8, 557562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quintanar, A., Castroviejo, S. and Catalan, P. (2007) Phylogeny of the tribe Aveneae (Pooideae, Poaceae) inferred from plastid trnT-F and nuclear ITS sequences. American Journal of Botany 94, 15541569.Google Scholar
Rajjou, L., Lovigny, Y., Groot, S.P.C., Belghaz, M., Job, C. and Job, D. (2008) Proteome-wide characterization of seed aging in Arabidopsis: a comparison between artificial and natural aging protocols. Plant Physiology 148, 620641.Google Scholar
Rasband, W.S. (2009) ImageJ, U.S. National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Available athttp://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/ (accessed 30 August 2010).Google Scholar
Roberts, H.A. and Boddrell, J.E. (1983) Seed survival and periodicity of seedling emergence in ten species of annual weeds. Annals of Applied Biology 102, 523532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, H.A. and Feast, P.M. (1972) Fate of seeds of some annual weeds in different depths of cultivated and undisturbed soil. Weed Research 12, 316324.Google Scholar
Saatkamp, A., Affre, L., Dutoit, T. and Poschlod, P. (2009) The seed bank longevity index revisited: limited reliability evident from a burial experiment and database analyses. Annals of Botany 104, 715724.Google Scholar
Sawma, J.T. and Mohler, C.L. (2002) Evaluating seed viability by an unimbibed seed crush test in comparison with the tetrazolium test. Weed Technology 16, 781786.Google Scholar
Schroeder, M., Deli, J., Schall, E.D. and Warren, G.F. (1974) Seed composition of 66 weed and crop species. Weed Science 22, 345348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sester, M., Dürr, C., Darmency, H. and Colbach, N. (2006) Evolution of weed beet (Beta vulgaris L.) seed bank: quantification of seed survival, dormancy, germination and pre-emergence growth. European Journal of Agronomy 24, 1925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sevic, A. (2003) Relations entre taille, forme des semences de mauvaises herbes et leur longévité dans le sol. Dijon, INRA.Google Scholar
Thompson, K., Band, S.R. and Hodgson, J.G. (1993) Seed size and shape predict persistence in soil. Functional Ecology 7, 236241.Google Scholar
Thompson, K., Bakker, J.P. and Bekker, R.M. (1997) The soil seed banks of north west Europe: methodology, density and longevity. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Toole, E.H. and Brown, E. (1946) Final results of the Duvel buried seed experiment. Journal of Agricultural Research 72, 201210.Google Scholar
Violle, C., Navas, M.L., Vile, D., Kazakou, E., Fortunel, C., Hummel, I. and Garnier, E. (2007) Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos 116, 882892.Google Scholar
Wagner, M. and Mitschunas, N. (2008) Fungal effects on seed bank persistence and potential applications in weed biocontrol: a review. Basic and applied ecology 9, 191203.Google Scholar
Webster, R.H. (1979) Growing weeds from seeds and other propagules for experimental purposes. Agricultural Research Council Weed Research Organization Technical Report 56.Google Scholar
Weiher, E., Werf, A.v.d., Thompson, K., Roderick, M., Garnier, E. and Eriksson, O. (1999) Challenging Theophrastus: a common core list of plant traits for functional ecology. Journal of Vegetation Science 10, 609620.Google Scholar
Westerman, P.R., Liebman, M., Heggenstaller, A.H. and Forcella, F. (2006) Integrating measurements of seed availability and removal to estimate weed seed losses due to predation. Weed Science 54, 566574.Google Scholar
Woo, S.L., Thomas, A.G., Peschken, D.P., Bowes, G.G., Douglas, D.W., Harms, V.L. and McClay, A.S. (1991) The biology of Canadian weeds. 99. Matricaria perforata Merat (Asteraceae). Canadian Journal of Plant Science 71, 11011119.Google Scholar