Effects of seed storage on germination of two succulent desert halophytes with little dormancy and transient seed bank

Seeds of both Salsola imbricata and Haloxylon salicornicum have high germination level and germination speed, and form a transient seed bank in nature. The impacts of storage period and condition on germination level and speed were assessed in the two species. Storage for three months significantly increased both germination level and speed of seeds stored under the different conditions, compared to that of fresh seeds. In both species, nine months storage did not affect germination percentage in cold storage seeds, but completely inhibited it in field seeds. Storage for longer time in room and warm temperatures resulted in significant reduction or complete inhibition in the germination of the two species, so this was more pronounced in H. salicornicum. Storage significantly increased germinate rate index of seeds stored in all conditions till 17 months in S. imbricata and till 12 months in H. salicornicum. In both species, fridge storage had little effects on final germination and germination speed of seeds incubated at the different temperatures, compared to fresh seeds. However, room temperature and warm storages significantly reduced final germination and germination speed at the different temperatures, so the reduction was more pronounced at 35 °C, especially in H. salicornicum.     

Transferring sediment containing intact seed banks: a method for studying plant community ecology

The experimental study of the ecology of natural plant communities is necessary to demonstrate the effects of environmental factors on plant growth. It allows one to make predictions of the likely effects of environmental changes on plant communities. Manipulating an entire ecosystem is complicated, and is rarely attempted. An alternative method is applied here for the submerged plant communities of the seasonally-flooded oligohaline marshes of the Camargue. It consists of collecting undisturbed sediment samples with their contained intact seed bank, and submitting them to different salinities. The study of total biomass and of the biomass of the more frequent species was carried out using parametric tests. The precision of the results depended on the frequency of the species in the replicates. When the frequency was low, non-parametric statistics were necessary. The method seems to be particularly suitable for the study of communities of annual species in aquatic environments.

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Résumé L'étude expérimentale de l'écologie des communautés naturelles de plantes est nécessaire pour démontrer les relations de cause à effet entre les facteurs environnementaux et l'abondance des plantes. Elle l'est également pour faire des prédictions réalistes sur les effets de modifications envisagées de l'environnement sur des communautés de plantes. La manipulation de l'écosystème complet est complexe, ce qui rend son utilisation rare. Une méthode alternative a été utilisée pour l'étude de la composition spécifique des communautés de plantes submergées des marais temporaires de Camargue. Elle consiste à prélever des échantillons non perturbés de sédiment, avec leur stock de semences intact, et à les soumettre à des conditions de salinité. L'étude de la biomasse totale et de la biomasse des espèces les plus fréquentes est faite au moyen de test paramétriques. La précision attendue des résultats dépend de la fréquence de l'espèce dans les réplicats. Lorsque la fréquence n'est pas élevée l'emploi de statistiques non paramétriques est indispensable. La méthode se révéle particulièrement bien adaptée à l'étude des communautés d'annuelles en milieu aquatique.

     

植物种子萌发期耐盐碱性提高技术研究进展

种子萌发是种胚从生命活动相对静止恢复到生理活跃状态的生长发育过程,最易受到外部环境影响,其中盐碱胁迫是最严重的生态限制因素之一。中国盐碱地面积大、分布广,总面积约1亿hm²,占全国土地面积的10%,盐碱逆境下种子萌发受阻已成为我国盐碱地植物天然更新和农林业生产的首要障碍因子。目前,已知植物种子萌发期耐盐碱性提高技术主要有物理方法、化学调控、生物途径和育种技术4个方面,其中物理方法包括种子引发、低温、超声波、微波、电场等物理因素处理;化学调控包括无机、有机外源物质调控;生物途径包括植物促生细菌和真菌共生;育种技术包括耐盐性鉴定筛选和转基因技术。综述了植物种子萌发期耐盐碱性提高技术研究进展,简述了这些技术的特点及不足,并提出了进一步开展工作的建议,旨在为解决我国盐碱地植物种子萌发受阻难题、实现盐碱地低成本规模化的生物修复和盐碱地区农林业生产提供参考。     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of halophytes in Central European salt marshes

 Halophytes from both coastal and inland Central European salt marshes were examined for colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Plants from different families were strongly colonized but the degree of colonization varied with the individual plant and apparently during the vegetation period, too. Members of the typical non-mycorrhizal families like Armeria maritima of the Plumbaginaceae and Salicornia europaea of the Chenopodiaceae were found to be colonized, particularly in the drier salt marshes. High numbers of Glomus spores were found in the saline soils, especially those of the inland locations examined. Approximately 80% of these spores were from Glomus geosporum as shown by a typical restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern of the amplified internal transcribed spacer regions. The present study demonstrates that RFLP analysis is useful when screening habitats for the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi which can be identified only with difficulty by morphological criteria. Accepted: 25 August 2000     

Extinction dynamics,population growth and seed banks

The goal of this paper is to test theoretical predictions about the effects of seed banks on population dynamics and extinction rates in variable environments using simulations based on data from a natural population of the winter annual Collinsia verna. In the simulations, we varied the frequency of demographically good and bad years and the autocorrelation between conditions in consecutive years to examine the impact of seed dormancy on population growth rate, extinction rate and time to extinction. The existence of a seed bank enhanced population growth rates under all environmental regimes except when good years were very frequent, but this enhancement was minimal. In addition, the presence of the seed bank decreased the likelihood of extinctions and increased the time to extinction. The time to extinction was longest when the environmental conditions were most unpredictable.     

Aerial and soil seed banks enable populations of an annual species to cope with an unpredictable dune ecosystem

Background and Aims

Simultaneous formation of aerial and soil seed banks by a species provides a mechanism for population maintenance in unpredictable environments. Eolian activity greatly affects growth and regeneration of plants in a sand dune system, but we know little about the difference in the contributions of these two seed banks to population dynamics in sand dunes.

Methods

Seed release, germination, seedling emergence and survival of a desert annual, Agriophyllum squarrosum (Chenopodiaceae), inhabiting the Ordos Sandland in China, were determined in order to explore the different functions of the aerial and soil seed banks.

Key Results

The size of the aerial seed bank was higher than that of the soil seed bank throughout the growing season. Seed release was positively related to wind velocity. Compared with the soil seed bank, seed germination from the aerial seed bank was lower at low temperature (5/15 °C night/day) but higher in the light. Seedling emergence from the soil seed bank was earlier than that from the aerial seed bank. Early-emerged (15 April–15 May) seedlings died due to frost, but seedlings that emerged during the following months survived to reproduce successfully.

Conclusions

The timing of seed release and different germination behaviour resulted in a temporal heterogeneity of seedling emergence and establishment between the two seed banks. The study suggests that a bet-hedging strategy for the two seed banks enables A. squarrosum populations to cope successfully with the unpredictable desert environment.     

盐胁迫对4种短命植物种子萌发及植株生长的影响

以新疆北部4种十字花科短命植物为材料,研究不同浓度NaCl胁迫下其种子萌发及植株生长特性,以明确它们的耐盐性强弱。结果显示:(1)随着NaCl浓度的增加,4种植物种子萌发率、萌发指数和相对萌发率均不同程度下降,而相对盐害率则逐渐升高,并以绵果荠的耐盐性最好,其在300 mmol.L-1NaCl胁迫下仍有22.22%的萌发率。(2)4种植物的生长在50~150 mmol.L-1NaCl胁迫下没有受到明显抑制,在200 mmol.L-1浓度下受不同程度的抑制,而在300 mmol.L-1NaCl胁迫下抑制作用更严重,其中绵果荠在各浓度处理下长势均最好,能够在300 mmol.L-1NaCl胁迫下存活10 d。(3)在盐胁迫条件下,4种植物细胞质膜透性不同程度增加,而叶片相对含水量和光合色素含量均不同程度降低,并以绵果荠各项指标的变化幅度最小。可见,4种新疆短命植物种子萌发和植株生长均受到盐胁迫的伤害,但它们的耐盐阈值明显不同,并以绵果荠的耐盐性最强。     

Seed biology and in vitro seed germination of Cypripedium

Abstract

Cypripedium orchids have high horticultural value. The populations of most species are very geographically restricted and they are becoming increasingly rare due to the destruction of native habitats and illegal collection. Reduction of the commercial value through large-scale propagation in vitro is a preferable option to reduce pressure from illegal collection. Cypripedium species are commercially propagated via seed germination in vitro. This review focuses on in vitro seed germination and provides an in-depth analysis of the seed biology of this genus.     

Vertical structure of seed banks and the impact of depth of burial on recruitment in two temporary marshes

The structure of the seed bank (including Chara oospores), in relation to depth within the sediment and disturbance, was studied in two Rhône delta temporary marshes for two years. The seeds of all species were concentrated in the top 2 cm of sediment with very low numbers beeing found below 4 cm. When an exclosure eliminated disturbances of the sediment by animals, the vertical repartition of seeds at site 2 was more pronounced than outside the exclosure.In experiment 1, the emergence capacity of seeds from different depths and buried under layers of sterile equivalent to those in the field was measured. Depending of the species, 22 to 98% of the seeds germinated from unburied seeds in the top 2 cm. Only 1% of the oospores of Chara (from site 2) at 2 to 4 cm depth in the sediment emerged.In experiment 2, surface seed bank samples were placed under 0, 2 or 4 cm sterile sediment depth. The samples contained numerous recent seeds and the emergence percentage reached 41% (for Ruppia maritima). Only the seeds of Zannichellia spp failed to germinate from a depth of 2 cm or more. The emergence percentage from 2 cm depth or more was always lower than at the surface. These experiments showed that both burial and ageing of seeds decrease germination capacity.The majority of the active seeds located at the surface germinate when the marsh is flooded. Seeds located between 2 and 4 cm can be brought back to the surface by disturbances and play the role of a reserve involved in maintenance of populations that go without seed production for one or some years.     

Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) in pioneer salt marsh plants of the Ganges river delta in West Bengal (India)

VA mycorrhizal colonization of four species of pioneer salt marsh plants including two species of chenopodiaceae at the terminal Gangetic delta in India, is reported. Five common species of VAM fungi were recorded from rhizosphere soils of the plant species. Population of spores of VAM fungi and effective inoculum potential of these fungi in rhizosphere soils as determined by the MPN-method were rather low.     

Plant salt tolerance: adaptations in halophytes

Background Most of the water on Earth is seawater, each kilogram of which contains about 35 g of salts, and yet most plants cannot grow in this solution; less than 0·2 % of species can develop and reproduce with repeated exposure to seawater. These ‘extremophiles’ are called halophytes.Scope Improved knowledge of halophytes is of importance to understanding our natural world and to enable the use of some of these fascinating plants in land re-vegetation, as forages for livestock, and to develop salt-tolerant crops. In this Preface to a Special Issue on halophytes and saline adaptations, the evolution of salt tolerance in halophytes, their life-history traits and progress in understanding the molecular, biochemical and physiological mechanisms contributing to salt tolerance are summarized. In particular, cellular processes that underpin the ability of halophytes to tolerate high tissue concentrations of Na⁺ and Cl⁻, including regulation of membrane transport, their ability to synthesize compatible solutes and to deal with reactive oxygen species, are highlighted. Interacting stress factors in addition to salinity, such as heavy metals and flooding, are also topics gaining increased attention in the search to understand the biology of halophytes.Conclusions Halophytes will play increasingly important roles as models for understanding plant salt tolerance, as genetic resources contributing towards the goal of improvement of salt tolerance in some crops, for re-vegetation of saline lands, and as ‘niche crops’ in their own right for landscapes with saline soils.     

壳聚糖包衣对油菜种子萌发及幼苗耐盐性影响

以不同浓度的壳聚糖对油菜种子进行包衣处理,考察其对油菜种子萌发及幼苗耐盐性的影响,并在不同盐浓度胁迫条件下对种子萌发时的发芽势、发芽率、生物量（鲜重、干重、根长、芽长）等指标进行测定,同时分析油菜幼苗叶绿素含量、可溶性蛋白及可溶性糖含量的变化。结果表明,一定浓度的壳聚糖包衣处理可提高油菜种子发芽率、发芽势、生物量、幼苗的耐盐指数、叶绿素含量、可溶性蛋白及可溶性糖的含量,其中浓度为0.25 g·L^-1壳聚糖包衣处理对油菜种子萌发的促进效果较好,而浓度为0.50 g·L^-1壳聚糖包衣处理对提高油菜幼苗耐盐性具有较好的促进作用。     

Relationships between seed germinability of Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae) and the formation of zonal communities in an inland salt marsh

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The formation of zonal communities may be attributed to differences in germination across the community and to timing of germination of seeds present in the seed bank. Our goals were two-fold: (1) to assess the annual germination pattern of Spergularia marina; and (2) to determine whether germination of S. marina differed across zonal communities. METHODS: Fresh seeds were buried in an experimental garden in polyester bags. Bags were harvested monthly for 1 year and exposed to differing 12 h/12 h temperature regimes (5/15 degrees C, 5/25 degrees C, 15/25 degrees C and 20/35 degrees C) with a 12 h dark/12 h light photoperiod. Replicate seeds were exposed to 24 h dark. Seeds were also placed in different zonal communities to assess germinability in the field. KEY RESULTS: Spergularia marina has a primary physiological dormancy. Conditional dormancy occurs from December to May and non-dormancy from June to November. Field germination initiates in the spring when temperatures are cool and salinity is low due to flooding, and ceases in the summer when temperatures exceed germination requirements. Spergularia marina has a light requirement for germination. CONCLUSIONS: If seeds become buried in the field or are light inhibited by Phragmites australis, they will remain dormant until they receive an adequate amount of light for germination. Since S. marina can germinate across all zones in a salt-marsh community, the formation of zonal communities is not determined at the germination stage, but at some later stage of development.     

Persistence of seed banks in Australian temporary wetlands

1. The ability of seeds to survive periods of drying and wetting that do not lead to seed production will determine the potential species pool for future plant communities of temporary wetlands. I investigated characteristics of the seed banks in sediment from Australian temporary wetlands that might contribute to the ability of aquatic plants to re‐establish after extended drought. 2. Experimental investigation into germination from sediment from six sites in five Australian temporary wetlands, with various water regimes, examined two sources of seed bank depletion: (i) length of time dry (longevity up to 12 years) and (ii) successive annual wetting and germination events (up to seven) with intervening periods dry (leaving a residual seed bank), both without any opportunity for replenishment of the seed bank. 3. These wetlands had species‐rich, long‐lived seed banks that were not exhausted by successive germination events. After three years of dry storage, 90% of the original seed bank species germinated, after six years 75% and after 12 years 20%. After seven successive wetting and drying events without seed bank replenishment, 48% of the original species still germinated. The mean survival time dry for seed bank species, 7.4 years, was longer than the duration of recent droughts. 4. Seed bank composition varied among wetlands and over time; most species did not occur in all wetlands and many occurred in one wetland only. The germination patterns of different species, although differing in detail, tended to be consistent in that all species could survive long dry periods and several wetting and drying events. However, experimental drought significantly diminished species richness and abundance, indicating limits to seed bank persistence. 5. Data from such long‐term studies of seed bank persistence should allow prediction of the species richness and composition of the germinating communities in a wetland whose water regime is intentionally or unintentionally altered. This ability to forecast may become particularly important under climate change and the need to predict future wetland conditions.     

Diversity,distribution and roles of osmoprotective compounds accumulated in halophytes under abiotic stress

Background and Aims Osmolytes are low-molecular-weight organic solutes, a broad group that encompasses a variety of compounds such as amino acids, tertiary sulphonium and quaternary ammonium compounds, sugars and polyhydric alcohols. Osmolytes are accumulated in the cytoplasm of halophytic species in order to balance the osmotic potential of the Na⁺ and Cl⁻ accumulated in the vacuole. The advantages of the accumulation of osmolytes are that they keep the main physiological functions of the cell active, the induction of their biosynthesis is controlled by environmental cues, and they can be synthesized at all developmental stages. In addition to their role in osmoregulation, osmolytes have crucial functions in protecting subcellular structures and in scavenging reactive oxygen species.Scope This review discusses the diversity of osmolytes among halophytes and their distribution within taxonomic groups, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence their accumulation, and their role in osmoregulation and osmoprotection. Increasing the osmolyte content in plants is an interesting strategy to improve the growth and yield of crops upon exposure to salinity. Examples of transgenic plants as well as exogenous applications of some osmolytes are also discussed. Finally, the potential use of osmolytes in protein stabilization and solvation in biotechnology, including the pharmaceutical industry and medicine, are considered.     

盐胁迫对荆条、白蜡、沙枣种子萌发的影响

用不同浓度的NaCl、Na₂CO₃混合盐胁迫梯度,对荆条、白蜡和沙枣种子进行了种子萌发实验,观察了3个物种在盐胁迫下的发芽率、发芽速度和胚根生长,比较了光照和黑暗条件下3种植物种子的萌发差异。结果表明：光照对3种植物种子的萌发有明显的促进作用,但对胚根生长的影响却各不相同。低浓度混合盐溶液对荆条、白蜡种子萌发有促进作用,对沙枣有轻度抑制。当盐胁迫浓度超过0.8%,3种植物种子的萌发均受到不良影响,尤其对荆条的影响较大。3种植物均能在盐渍化生境中生长,3者均可作为园林植物在天津试验栽培。沙枣在天津塘沽地区盐碱地上进行广泛种植完全具有可行性。     

Effect of salinity on seed germination and seedling growth of the halophyte Suaeda japonica Makino

Seed germination and seedling growth of the annual halophyte species Suaeda japonica Makino were investigated in response to variable salinity of sediment pore water. The germination percentage of S. japonica’s soft brown seeds, which are dominant among dimorphic seeds, decreased with an increase in salinity, although germination was still observed at 1200‐mM NaCl concentration. The germination percentage and germination speed observed in April were higher than those observed in December when treated with sediment water with 400–1200 mM of NaCl concentrations. These data suggest that S. japonica seedlings could be established on sediments that experience high temperatures. Germination recovery of S. japonica seeds transferred from 600‐mM NaCl containing sediment (seawater equivalent) was lowest among 0–1200‐mM NaCl treatments, implying the low tolerance of seawater conditions of S. japonica seeds. Seeds germinated in 900‐ to 1200‐mM NaCl medium showed poor growth, but survived, in hypersaline conditions, and exhibited improvement in growth upon transfer to lower salinity.