Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-03T19:20:07.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Germination ecology of the perennial herb Xyris longiscapa: inter-annual variation in seed germination and seasonal dormancy cycles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2019

Túlio G. S. Oliveira
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Queila S. Garcia*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Fisiologia Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Queila S. Garcia, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Germination ecology was investigated in a natural population of Xyris longiscapa, a perennial herbaceous species endemic to the Brazilian campo rupestre. Seeds were collected over four consecutive years (2014 to 2017) to evaluate germination responses to a range of temperatures (from 15 to 30°C). The light requirement was evaluated in seeds collected in 2014. Seeds collected in 2014 were also buried in soil in the natural habitat of the species to evaluate changes in germinability at different temperatures over the time. Seeds showed an absolute light requirement for germination. Seed germination was affected by temperature, collection year and the interaction between these two factors. Seeds collected in 2014 showed a narrower temperature range for germination (15–20°C), compared with the seeds collected in 2015, 2016 and 2017 that germinated in a temperature range of 15–25°C. Buried seeds remained viable in soil for at least 14 months and exhibited seasonal dormancy cycling. Secondary dormancy was induced during the rainy season and alleviated during the dry season, following a conditional dormancy/dormancy cycle. The degree of primary dormancy appeared to be influenced by the environmental conditions experienced by seeds during maturation. Primary dormancy (when present), seed persistence in soil and seasonal dormancy cycles are strategies of X. longiscapa to enhance regeneration success in the harsh environment of the Brazilian campo rupestre.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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

Abreu, MEP and Garcia, QS (2005) Efeito da luz e da temperatura na germinação de sementes de quatro espécies de Xyris L. (Xyridaceae) ocorrentes na Serra do Cipó, MG, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 19, 149154.Google Scholar
Andersson, L and Milberg, P (1998) Variation in seed dormancy among mother plants, populations and years of seed collection. Seed Science Research 8, 2938.Google Scholar
Baskin, JM and Baskin, CC (1985) The annual dormancy cycle in buried weed seeds: a continuum. BioScience 35, 492498.Google Scholar
Baskin, CC and Baskin, JM (2014) Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, 2nd edn. San Diego, CA, USA: Elsevier/Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bewley, JD (1997) Seed germination and dormancy. The Plant Cell 9, 10551066.Google Scholar
Copete, MA, Herranz, JM, Ferrandis, P and Copete, E (2015) Annual dormancy cycles in buried seeds of shrub species: germination ecology of Sideritis serrata (Labiatae). Plant Biology 17, 798807.Google Scholar
Dayrell, RL, Garcia, QS, Negreiros, D, Baskin, CC, Baskin, JM and Silveira, FAO (2017) Phylogeny strongly drives seed dormancy and quality in a climatically buffered hotspot for plant endemism. Annals of Botany 119, 267277.Google Scholar
Donohue, K, de Casas, RR, Burghardt, L, Kovach, K and Willis, C (2010) Germination, postgermination adaptation, and species ecological ranges. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 41, 293319.Google Scholar
Duarte, DM and Garcia, QS (2015) Interactions between substrate temperature and humidity in signalling cyclical dormancy in seeds of two perennial tropical species. Seed Science Research 25, 170178.Google Scholar
Fenner, M (1991) The effects of the parent environment on seed germinability. Seed Science Research 1, 7584.Google Scholar
Fernández-Pascual, E, Jiménez-Alfaro, B, Caujapé-Castells, J, Jaén-Molina, R and Díaz, TE (2013) A local dormancy cline is related to the seed maturation environment, population genetic composition and climate. Annals of Botany 112, 937945.Google Scholar
Garcia, QS, Giorni, VT, Müller, M and Munné-Bosch, S (2012) Common and distinct responses in phytohormone and vitamin E changes during seed burial and dormancy in Xyris bialata and X. peregrina. Plant Biology 14, 347353.Google Scholar
Garcia, QS, Oliveira, PG and Duarte, DM (2014) Seasonal changes in germination and dormancy of buried seeds of endemic Brazilian Eriocaulaceae. Seed Science Research 24, 113117.Google Scholar
Gutterman, Y (2000) Maternal effects on plants during development, pp. 5984 in Fenner, M (ed), Seeds: The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities (2nd edn). Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.Google Scholar
Honda, Y (2008) Ecological correlations between the persistence of the soil seed bank and several plant traits, including seed dormancy. Plant Ecology 196, 301309.Google Scholar
Hume, L (1994) Maternal environment effects on plant growth and germination of two strains of Thlaspi arvense L. International Journal of Plant Sciences 155, 180186.Google Scholar
INMET – Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (2017) Dados climáticos da Estação de Conceição do Mato Dentro. Banco de dados do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia.Google Scholar
Jurado, E and Moles, A (2003) Germination deferment strategies, pp. 381388 in Nicolás, G, Bradford, KJ, Côme, D and Pritchard, HW (eds), The Biology of Seeds: Recent Research Advances. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.Google Scholar
Jurado, E and Flores, J (2005) Is seed dormancy under environmental control or bound to plant traits? Journal of Vegetation Science 16, 559564.Google Scholar
Long, RL, Gorecki, MJ, Renton, M, Scott, JK, Colville, L, Goggin, DE, Commander, LE, Wescott, DA, Cherry, H and Finch-Savage, WE (2014) The ecophysiology of seed persistence: a mechanistic view of the journey of germination or demise. Biological Reviews 90, 3159.Google Scholar
Karssen, CM (1980/1981) Environmental conditions and endogenous mechanisms involved in secondary dormancy of seeds. Israel Journal of Botany 29, 4564.Google Scholar
Oliveira, TGS, Diamantino, IP and Garcia, QS (2017) Dormancy cycles in buried seeds of three perennial Xyris (Xyridaceae) species from the Brazilian campo rupestre. Plant Biology 19, 818823.Google Scholar
Oliveira, TGS, Souza, MGM and Garcia, QS (2018) Seed tolerance to environmental stressors in two species of Xyris from Brazilian campo rupestre: effects of heat shock and desiccation. Flora 238, 210215Google Scholar
Ramos, DM, Diniz, P, Ooi, MK, Borghetti, F and Valls, JF (2017) Avoiding the dry season: dispersal time and syndrome mediate seed dormancy in grasses in Neotropical savanna and wet grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 28, 798807.Google Scholar
Schütz, W (1997) Primary dormancy and annual dormancy cycles in seeds of six temperate wetland sedges. Aquatic Botany 59, 7585.Google Scholar
Sharif-Zadeh, F and Murdoch, AJ (2000) The effects of different maturation conditions on seed dormancy and germination of Cenchrus ciliaris (L.). Seed Science Research 10, 447457.Google Scholar
Thompson, K, Ceriani, RM, Bakker, JP and Bekker, RM (2003) Are seed dormancy and persistence in soil related? Seed Science Research 13, 97100.Google Scholar
Vázquez-Yanes, C and Orozco-Segovia, A (1996) Physiological ecology of seed dormancy and longevity, pp. 535558 in Mulkey, S, Chazdon, RL and Smith, AP (eds), Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology. New York, USA: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Vicente-Serrano, SM, Beguería, S and López-Moreno, JI (2010) A multi-scalar drought index sensitive to global warming: the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index – SPEI. Journal of Climate 23, 16961718.Google Scholar
Vleeshouwers, LM, Bouwmeester, HJ and Karssen, CM (1995) Redefining seed dormancy: an attempt to integrate physiology and ecology. Journal of Ecology 83, 10311037.Google Scholar
Walck, JL, Baskin, JM, Baskin, CC and Hidayati, SN (2005) Defining transient and persistent seed banks in species with pronounced seasonal dormancy and germination patterns. Seed Science Research 15, 189196.Google Scholar
Wanderley, MDGL (2011) Flora da Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais: Xyridaceae. Boletim de Botânica 29, 69134.Google Scholar