Germination and seed bank biology in some Iberian populations of Anagyris foetida L. (Leguminosae)

In Anagyris foetida, the fruits are disseminated by fall under gravity. No dispersing agent is as yet known, so that the fruits are located near the mother plant. The species presents an important seed bank that differs between the two populations studied, probably due to their different production of seeds/individual and to the livestock pressure. The germination of control seeds was found to be null or very low, with no improvement following exposure to high temperatures, but reaching high values following scarification in all the populations studied. This indicates that the failure in germination must be attributed to the hardness of the testa, with the seeds presenting physical dormancy. Also, the browsing of sheep on ripe fruit increases germination to 48% due to mechanical scarification, with this being the only positive effect those animals have on these plants. There were differences in germination after scarification between populations and years which could have been due to intrinsic characteristics.