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Dispersal and Germination of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

James A. Young  and
Raymond A. Evans
James A. Young
Affiliation:
U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
Raymond A. Evans
Affiliation:
U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv., 920 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate seed dispersal and germination of seeds in the soil as factors in establishment of big sagebrush seedlings. Seed dispersal began at seed maturity in December. Under the shrub canopy the dispersal of seeds was greater to the east. Between shrubs the dispersal of seeds tended to be uniform. For 6 months of each year there were no detectable germinable seeds in the litter and surface soil at the sites sampled. Germinable seeds in the soil increased rapidly during seed dispersal but were not detected by June of the next season. Enrichment of bioassay samples with GA3 or KNO3 did not enhance emergence of big sagebrush seedlings. Big sagebrush seedlings were found at very low densities in areas previously burned in wildfires. This suggests the presence of viable big sagebrush seeds in the soil at a very low density.

Keywords

Big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ♯3 ARTTRpotassium nitrate, KNO3gibberlin, GA3Range ecologyBromus tectorum L.BROTEARTTR
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , March 1989 , pp. 201 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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