Seed germination of four tree species from the tropical dry forest of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The ecological restoration strategies for highly threatened ecosystems such as the tropical dry forest, depend on the knowledge of limiting factors of biological processes for the different species. Some of these include aspects such as germination and seed longevity of typical species present in those forests. In this study, we evaluated the effect of light and temperature on seed germination of two Fabaceae (Samanea saman and Jacaranda caucana) and two Bignoniaceae (Pithecellobium dulce and Tabebuia rosea) species having potential use in restoration, and we analyzed the seed storage behavior of these species for a three months period. To study the light effect, four levels of light quality on seeds were used (photoperiod of 12 hours of white light, darkness and light enriched in red and far-red, both for an hour each day), and we combined them with three levels of alternated temperatures (20/25, 20/30 and 25/30°C-16/8h). For the storage behavior, two levels of seed moisture content particular for each species were used (low: 3.5-6.1% and high: 8.3-13.8%), with three storage temperatures (20, 5 and-20°C) and two storage times (one and three months). The criterion for germination was radicle emergence which was measured in four replicates per treatment, and was expressed as percentage of germination (PG). There were significant differences in germination of Samanea saman and Jacaranda caucana among light and temperature treatments, with the lowest value in darkness treatments, whereas germination of Pithecellobium dulce and Tabebuia rosea did not differ between treatments (PG>90%). The most suitable temperature regime to promote germination in all species was 25/30°C. These four species showed an orthodox seed storage behavior. We concluded that seeds of P. dulce, J. caucana and T. rosea did not have an apparent influence of all light conditions tested in their germination response, which might confer advantages in colonization and establishment processes, while S. saman did not germinate well in darkness. We suggest the use of seeds of P. dulce, J. caucana and T. rosea in ecological restoration processes, due to their tolerance and germination under a wide range of temperature and light conditions. Futhermore, seeds of S. saman might be used in open areas such as forest gaps.
La excesiva degradación de los ecosistemas de la formación de bosque seco tropical, obliga a su inmediato estudio como estrategia para conservar la biodiversidad en Colombia. Se caracterizó la composición y estructura vegetal de fragmentos de estos ecosistemas en el Magdalena Medio, para aportar a la evaluación de su estado. Se delimitaron zonas de minería (ZM), sistema silvopastoril sin manejo (ZS) y bosque (ZB). Se ubicaron al azar 20 trayectos lineales (50x2m) por zona. Se censaron árboles, arbustos, lianas (DAP≥1cm) y también hierbas en cinco cuadrantes (1m²) por trayecto; se completó el inventario de especies con colectas libres. Se registraron 506 especies en 90 familias. Fabaceae tuvo la mayor riqueza específica en las tres zonas. Cyperaceae y Poaceae le siguieron en ZM, mientras que en ZS fueron Malvaceae y Euphorbiaceae y en ZB Rubiaceae. ZB presentó una mayor riqueza de especies y abundancia de individuos que las zonas intervenidas. ZM no tiene una estructura vertical definida, ZS presenta una composición y estructura vegetal de sitios sucesionales tempranos y ZB tiene una composición y estructura más compleja. ZB registra una mayor riqueza de especies que bosques secos al sur del valle del Magdalena, pero menor que bosques húmedos al norte, por lo que puede ser un punto de conexión ecológico potencial importante.
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