Germination in Barrow, Alaska, Tundra Soil Cores

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. INSTAAR, University of Colorado andThe Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate, contracting on behalf of the University of Colorado at Boulder for the benefit of INSTAAR are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Arctic and Alpine Research.ABSTRACT Soil cores, collected at Barrow, Alaska, in 1972, were frozen for 6 yr and then placed in a growth chamber or greenhouse. Chrysosplenium tetrandrum (Saxifragaceae) seedlings, 204.8 m-2 in the growth chamber and 39.2 m-2 in the greenhouse, were recorded. Distribution of seeds was patchy with 25 of 36 surface (0 to 8 cm) cores yielding no seedlings. No seedlings appeared in subsurface (8 to 16 cm) cores. In addition to these seedlings, six species of mosses, fruiting bodies of two species of fungi, and several algae were observed. Germination of C. tetrandrum seeds collected from growth chamber plants showed that 33% germinated within 2 wk after harvest. Germination after cold treatment (-10?C) was 55%, but, if cold treatment were preceded by a 3-d moist after-ripening period, germination was increased to 80%. Presence of fruit parts decreased germination (55 to 9% and 80 to 26% for non-after-ripened and after-ripened seeds, respectively). The data suggests the presence of allelochemics in the soil cores and in fruit parts surrounding the seeds. Soil cores could be used for other studies, including rates of recolonization, and such studies should utilize controlled environments.

The Alpine Soil Seed Bank in Relation to Field Seedlings and Standing Vegetation in Subarctic Finland

“…Before this investigation, very low seed bank densities were found in the alpine area of the Fennoscandian subarctic region (Diemer and Prock, 1993;Molau and Larson, 2000). The seed bank densities in Kilpisjärvi are more like those in alpine areas of more southern regions (Hatt, 1991;Diemer and Prock, 1993;Chambers, 1993), subarctic forests of northern Finland (Vieno et al, 1993) or arctic regions (e.g., Fox, 1983;Leck, 1980;Freedman et al, 1982;Roach, 1983). Although not investigated in our study, one reason for the surprisingly high densities in Kilpisjärvi may be intensive grazing by reindeer and rodents.…”

Plant recruitment in the High Arctic: Seed bank and seedling emergence on Svalbard

“…Some species found below the bird cliff had a much higher density of germinable seeds in Svalbard than reported elsewhere, e.g. Chrysosplenium tetrandrum 790 seedlings per m 2 compared with 39 -204 (Leck 1980), Cochlearia groenlandica 2827 per m 2 compared with 752 (Freedman et al 1981) and Saxifraga cespitosa 4366 per m 2 compared with 10 -80 (Larsson & Lévesque 2003) and 33 (Bliss & Gold 1999). This probably results from the warm southern exposure and high levels of nutrients (Wookey et al 1995).…”

“…This higher germination from disturbed sites in greenhouse trials suggests that initial colonization is from the seed bank (see also Leck 1980) rather than freshly dispersed seeds or vegetative runners. However, vegetation cover in the disturbed Dryas heath remains low after 20 yr, suggesting that recruitment is limited by the availability of microsites rather than the presence of seed.…”

Disturbance, Life History Strategies, and Seed Fates in Alpine Herbfield Communities

“…Mesic sites characterized by organic soils are often dominated by sedges and also have variable seed densities (1-3,957 seeds m-) (McGraw, 1980;Freedman et al 1982;Fox, 1983;Gartner, Chapin, and Shaver, 1983;Roach, 1983;Archibold, 1984;Morin and Payette, 1988;Ebersole, 1989;Chambers, 1993;Diemer and Prock, 1993). Both seed densities (0-2,802 seeds m-2 ) and species diversities are frequently low on hydric sites (Leck, 1980;Fox, 1983;Roach, 1983;Archibold, 1984;Ebersole, 1989).…”