Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:18:53.116Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Habitat-correlated seed germination behaviour in populations of wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa L.) from northern Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2008

Andrea Mondoni ,
Robin Probert ,
Graziano Rossi ,
Fiona Hay  and
Costantino Bonomi
Andrea Mondoni*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Ecologia del Territorio, University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100Pavia, Italy
Robin Probert
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West SussexRH17 6TN, UK
Graziano Rossi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Ecologia del Territorio, University of Pavia, Via S. Epifanio 14, 27100Pavia, Italy
Fiona Hay
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West SussexRH17 6TN, UK
Costantino Bonomi
Affiliation:
Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Via Calepina 14, 38100Trento, Italy
*
*Correspondence Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although various aspects of the biology of Anemone nemorosa have been examined, few studies present data on seed germination, and even then information tends to be rather contradictory. A. nemorosa L. is a spring-flowering, woodland geophyte, widely distributed across much of Europe. Germination phenology, including embryo development and radicle and shoot emergence, were investigated in one mountain and three lowland populations from northern Italy. Immediately after harvest, seeds were either sown on agar in the laboratory under simulated seasonal temperatures, or placed in nylon mesh sachets and buried in the wild. Embryos, undifferentiated at the time of dispersal, grew under summer conditions in the laboratory and in the wild. However, seeds did not germinate under continuous summer conditions. Radicle emergence in the field was first recorded at the beginning of autumn, when soil temperatures had dropped to c. 15°C in the case of the three lowland populations, and to c. 10°C at the mountain site. Shoot emergence was delayed under natural conditions until late autumn/early winter, when soil temperatures had dropped to c. 10°C in the lowlands and c. 6°C at the mountain site. In the laboratory, a period of cold stratification was required for shoot emergence, and this requirement was more pronounced in the mountain population. Seeds of the mountain population completed embryo development, radicle emergence and shoot emergence at cooler temperatures compared with the lowland populations. These results suggest that germination in A. nemorosa is highly adapted and finely tuned to local climate. We conclude that seeds of A. nemorosa display deep, simple epicotyl, morphophysiogical dormancy, and this is the first report of such dormancy for the genus Anemone. However, the continuous development and growth of embryos from the time of natural dispersal, and the lack of evidence of developmental arrest under natural conditions, suggests that radicles are non-dormant.

Keywords

Anemone nemorosaembryo growthepicotyl morphophysiological dormancyradicle and shoot emergenceRanunculaceae
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 213 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrami, G. (1971) Life cycle and temperature requirements of seven herbaceous species. Giornale Botanico Italiano 105, 295–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ali, N., Probert, R., Hay, F., Davies, H. and Stuppy, W. (2007) Post-dispersal embryo growth and acquisition of desiccation tolerance in Anemone nemorosa L. seeds. Seed Science Research 17, 155–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1998) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Baskin, J.M.andBaskin, C.C. (1973) Plant population differences in dormancy and germination characteristic of seeds: heredity or environment? American Midland Naturalist 90, 493–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (1985) Epicotyl dormancy in seeds of Cimicifuga racemosa and Hepatica acutiloba. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 112, 253–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (2003) Classification, biogeography, and phylogenetic relationships of seed dormancy. pp. 517–544in Smith, R.D.; Dickie, J.D.; Linington, S.H.; Pritchard, H.W.; Probert, R.J. (Eds) Seed conservation: Turning science into practice. Kew, UK, Royal Botanic Gardens.Google Scholar
Borghetti, M., Vendramin, G.G., Giannini, R. and Schettino, A. (1989) Effects of stratification, temperature and light on germination of Pinus leucodermis. Acta Oecologia 10, 45–56.Google Scholar
Brown, R.F. and Mayer, D.G. (1988) Representing cumulative germination. 2. The use of the Weibull function and other empirically derived curves. Annals of Botany 61, 127–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavieres, L.A. and Arroyo, M.T.K. (2000) Seed germination response to cold stratification period and thermal regime in Phacelia secunda (Hydrophyllaceae). Plant Ecology 149, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, R.A. (1993) The population biology and demography of Cimicifuga rubifolia Kearney and the genetic relationships among North American Cimicifuga species. PhD thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Cowie, N.R., Watkinson, A.R. and Sutherland, W. (1995) Modelling the growth dynamic of the clonal herb Anemone nemorosa L. in an ancient coppice wood. Abstracta Botanica 19, 35–49.Google Scholar
Daws, M.I., Burslem, D.F.R.P., Crabtree, L.M., Kirkman, P., Mullins, C.E. and Dalling, J.W. (2002) Differences in seed germination responses may promote coexistence of four sympatric Piper species. Functional Ecology 16, 258–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donohue, K. (2005) Seeds and seasons: interpreting germination timing in the field. Seed Science Research 15, 175–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorne, A.J. (1981) Variation in seed germination inhibition of Chenopodium bonus-henricus in relation to altitude of plant growth. Canadian Journal of Botany 59, 1893–1901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eriksson, O. (1994) Seedling recruitment in the perennial herb Actaea spicata L. Flora 189, 187–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eriksson, O. (1995) Seedling recruitment in deciduous forest herbs: the effects of litter, soil chemistry and seed bank. Flora 190, 65–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ernst, W.H.O. (1983) Population biology and mineral nutrition of Anemone nemorosa with emphasis on its parasitic fungi. Flora 173, 335–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, M. (1991) The effect of parent environment on seed germinability. Seed Science Research 1, 75–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, M. and Thompson, K. (2005) The ecology of seeds. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grime, J.P., Mason, G., Curtis, A.V., Rodman, J., Band, S.R., Mowforth, M.A.G., Neal, A.M. and Shaw, S. (1981) A comparative study of germination characteristics in a local flora. Journal of Ecology 69, 1017–1059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holderegger, R. (1996) Effects of litter removal on the germination of Anemone nemorosa L. Flora 191, 175–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holderegger, R., Stehlik, I. and Schneller, J.J. (1998) Estimation of the relative importance of sexual and vegetative reproduction in the clonal woodland herb Anemone nemorosa. Oecologia 117, 105–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007. The physical science basis. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, N.L. and Kotz, S. (1970) Distributions in statistics: Univariate distributions, Vol. 1. New York, Wiley.Google Scholar
Kibe, T. and Masuzawa, T. (1994) Seed germination and seedling growth of Carex doenitzii growing on alpine zoneof Mt. Fuji. Journal of Plant Research 107, 23–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kondo, T., Miura, T., Okubo, N., Shimada, M., Baskin, C. and Baskin, J. (2004) Ecophysiology of deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of Gagea lutea (Lilliaceae). Seed Science Research 14, 371–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mariani, L., Paolillo, P.L. and Rasio, R. (2001) Climi e suoli lombardi. Il contributo dell'ERSAL alla conoscenza e conservazione delle risorse fisiche. Catanzaro, Italy, Rubbettino Editore.Google Scholar
Meyer, S.E. (1992) Habitat correlated variation in firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii Gray: Scrophulariaceae) seed germination response. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 119, 290–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S. and Kitchen, S.G. (1994) Habitat-correlated variation in germination response to chilling in Penstemon Section Glabri (Scrophulariaceae). American Midland Naturalist 132, 349–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S., Kitchen, S.G. and Carlson, S.L. (1995) Seed germination timing patterns in intermountain Penstemon (Scophulariaceae). American Journal of Botany 82, 377–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S.E., Allen, P.S. and Beckstead, J. (1997) Seed germination regulation in Bromus tectorum (Poaceae) and its ecological significance. Oikos 78, 475–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pauli, H., Gottfried, M., Reiter, K., Klettner, C. and Grabherr, G. (2006) Signals of range expansions and contractions of vascular plants in the high Alps: observations (1994–2004) at the GLORIA master site Schrankogel, Tyrol, Austria. Global Change Biology 13, 147–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piroznikov, E. (1994) Demography of Anemone nemorosa L. in dry site deciduous forest (Tilio-Carpinetum) in Bialowieza forest. Ekologia Polska 42, 155–172.Google Scholar
Schütz, W. and Milberg, P. (1997) Seed dormancy in Carex canescens: regional differences and ecological consequences. Oikos 78, 420–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirreffs, D.A. (1985) Anemone nemorosa L. Journal of Ecology 73, 1005–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirreffs, D.A. and Bell, A.D. (1984) Rhizome growth and clone development in Anemone nemorosa L. Annals of Botany 54, 315–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R.D., Dickie, J.D., Linington, S.H., Pritchard, H.W. and Probert, R.J. (2003) Seed conservation: Turning science into practice. Kew, UK, Royal Botanic Gardens.Google Scholar
Stehlik, I. and Holderegger, R. (2000) Spatial genetic structure and clonal diversity of Anemone nemorosa in late successional deciduous woodlands of Central Europe. Journal of Ecology 88, 424–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toshikazu, N., Yoshiji, N. and Eriko, W. (2004) Embryo development and seed germination of Hepatica nobilis Schreber var. japonica as affected by temperature. Scientia Horticulturae 99, 345–352.Google Scholar
Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M. and Webb, D.A. (1964) Flora Europaea, Vol. 1. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Weibull, W. (1951) A statistical distribution function of a wide applicability. Journal of Applied Mechanics 18, 293–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar