Reproductive biology of Abies cephalonica Loudon in Mount Aenos National Park, Cephalonia, Greece |
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Authors: | Patrizia-I Politi Kyriacos Georghiou Margarita Arianoutsou |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece;(2) Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; |
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Abstract: | The reproductive biology of the endemic to Greece Abies cephalonica Loudon, including the phenology of the reproductive life cycle, cone production in relation to plant age and the required
seed germination conditions, was studied. All individuals growing within 20 permanent plots of 100 m2 each established in 11 different locations covering the entire strictly protected area of Mount Aenos National Park (Cephalonia)
were monitored over a period of 4 years. The cones are formed on the upper part of the previous year’s branches, mostly at
the upper crown half of the reproductive individuals (over 53 years old). Female flowers are pollinated in spring and cone
maturation lasts until the beginning of autumn, when seed dispersal occurs. The annual production of cones per individual
varied significantly, revealing masting behavior for this tree. This behavior was also expressed in the number of trees producing
cones, as well as the percentage of sound seeds per cone. A significant difference in the mass and the length of the cones
between the years of low and high cone production was observed, being higher in the years of massive cone production. Similar
germination percentages were observed in full darkness or under “canopy light” and “sun light”, provided that the seeds were
previously stratified for 6 weeks. It is concluded that A. cephalonica exhibits plasticity expressed in its reproductive behavior for alternating years of high to low cone production and in its
seed germination for an array of habitat light conditions. |
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