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Seed dormancy and germination of three herbaceous perennial desert ephemerals from the Junggar Basin, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

An-jun Tang ,
Mei-hua Tian  and
Chun-lin Long
An-jun Tang
Affiliation:
Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming650204, People's Republic of China
Mei-hua Tian
Affiliation:
Institute of Tibet Plateau Research at Kunming, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming650204, People's Republic of China
Chun-lin Long*
Affiliation:
Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming650204, People's Republic of China College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing100081, People's Republic of China
*
*Correspondence Fax: +86 871 521 6201 Email: [email protected] (C.-l. Long); [email protected] (A.-j. Tang)
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Abstract

The purpose of our study was to better understand seed germination ecology of the spring ephemeral herbaceous perennials, Ixiolirion tataricum, Tulipa iliensis and Scorzonera pusilla, in the temperate desert in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China. Seeds of I. tataricum, T. iliensis and S. pusilla were dormant at maturity but when subjected to cold, dry (2 months at 4°C) followed by cold, wet ( ≤ 40 days at 4°C) conditions, they germinated to 100%, 96% and 93%, respectively. After 2 months' dry storage at 4°C, seeds germinated to only 11%, 3% and 42%, respectively at 15°C, and no seeds germinated at 30°C. Seeds of the three species were not sensitive to light. Low ( < 12.7%) and high (21.4%) soil moisture contents suppressed germination. In addition, both final germination percentages and rates of the three species decreased dramatically with a decrease in water potential from 0 to − 3.17 MPa. Thus, the low-temperature requirement for dormancy break and germination cues seed germination to occur in early spring when soil moisture is favourable for germination and subsequent seedling establishment.

Keywords

afterripeningdormancygerminationIxiolirion tataricumScorzonera pusillaTulipa iliensiswater stress
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 183 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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