Physiological dormancy and seed germination inhibitors in Miconia (Melastomataceae)

Seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) is a useful framework to explore the evolutionary and ecological consequences of seed dispersal to plant fitness. However, SDE is poorly studied in tropical open grasslands. Here, we studied both quantitative and qualitative components of SDE in two species of Miconia (Melastomataceae) from ferruginous campo rupestre, a vegetation highly threatened by mining activities. We determined fruit traits and fruit availability and found that fruits of both species are produced in times of resource scarcity at the study site. Based on the number of visits and the number of fruits removed per visit, we calculated the quantitative component of SDE for both species. Finally, we explored the qualitative component of SDE by means of a controlled experiment that simulated the effects of gut passage on seed germination. Bird species differed strongly in the quantitative component of SDE. Gut passage did not affect germination compared with hand-extracted seeds, except for a minor negative effect on germination time in M. pepericarpa. However, seeds within intact fruits showed lower germination percentages compared with hand-extracted seeds. Our data indicate that Miconia species from ferruginous campo rupestre are visited by a diverse assemblage of generalist birds that differ in quantitative, but not qualitative, seed dispersal effectiveness. We argue that planting Miconia species can overcome seed limitation in degraded areas and thus assist ecological restoration after mining abandonment.

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“…1D). Both species produce physiologically dormant seeds (Silveira et al ., 2013b). Vouchers of both species are deposited at the BHCB herbarium.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frugivory and seed dispersal effectiveness in twoMiconia(Melastomataceae) species from ferruginouscampo rupestre

2017

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“…Physiological seed dormancy has been reported in several Miconia spp., including M. calvescens (Dalling et al 1998;Ellison et al 1993;Mendes-Rodrigues et al 2010;Meyer 1994;Pearson et al 2003;Silveira et al 2013;Valio and Scarpa 2001). This has been translated to higher shade tolerance under forest canopy (i.e., lower red:far-red ratios), offering competitive advantages over other larger-seeded tropical species with longer seedbank persistence and higher germination rates under lower light conditions (Martínez-Ghersa and Ghersa 2006;Meyer 1994;Pearson et al 2003).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting Life-History Traits of Miconia (Miconia calvescens) through Management over Space and Time in the East Maui Watershed, Hawaii (USA)

Leary

Mahnken²,

Wada

et al. 2018

Invasive plant sci. manag.

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Miconia (Miconia calvescens DC) was introduced to the East Maui Watershed (EMW) a half-century ago with more than 25 yr of management recorded. Using a historical spatiotemporal data set, we constructed a leptokurtic dispersal kernel with 99% of progeny confined to within 549 m of the nearest maternal source and the remaining 1% dispersed out to 1,636 m. Seedbank persistence, based on postdated recruitment, displayed an exponential decay projecting extinction beyond 20 yr. These parameters are highly congruent to independent interpretations of M. calvescens in Australia and Tahiti. In a simulated stage matrix model, we projected management efforts to locally eradicate a small incipient propagule bank wherein optimal management was achieved with an annual harvest rate that eliminated all juvenile recruits before reaching maturity, until extinction. Based on current pricing for helicopter herbicide ballistic technology (HBT) operations, the optimal, variable cost to locally eradicate this incipient propagule bank was estimated to be less than US$42,000, with ~90% of the effort searching for the most distant 1% of the progeny expended within the first 9 yr after the mature discovery. This variable cost was sensitive to seedbank size, recruitment rate, and dispersal range, but was most sensitive to harvest rates between suboptimal and excess. In a scenario prioritizing the upper region of EMW, we retroactively analyzed past HBT efforts eliminating satellite M. calvescens and determined that 27% of the total effort resulted in 87% of the total protection to this priority asset, with every US$1 invested potentially avoiding US$184 in future costs. Management outside the priority area was less economical, with returns in protection diminishing with distance from the priority upper region. Miconia calvescens is currently not eradicable in the EMW, and full containment of the invasion would require a substantial increase in stable, long-term funding. With limited resources, local eradication of satellite M. calvescens could be the most cost-effective alternative to protecting uninvaded areas prioritized for critical ecosystem functions.

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“…The germination counts were observed daily from first to last day of maximum seed germination 27,28,29,30 . Seeds at the time of radicle emergence were considered germinated 31 and an interval 45 days was found enough to get maximum germination and differentiation of non-dormant seeds from dormant ones 22,32,33 .…”

Section: Seed Germinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Ferula Assa-Foetida Accessions for Germination Parameters Under Cold Stratification to Overcome Seed Dormancy and Effect of Media Mixtures on Seedling Growth

Kumar

Singh

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Ferula assa-foetida L. is a perennial of Apiaceae family having seed dormancy which inhibits the germination. Oleo-gum resin obtained from the rhizomes of Ferula assa-foetida plant has several medicinal properties and used for the treatment of various diseases, pharmaceutical industries and in cooking of food in some countries. In present study, three different temperature treatments (5°, 15° and 25°C) were used to break seed dormancy in six Ferula assa-foetida accessions repeatedly for two years. Also the seedling survival rate with other morphological parameters like plant height, no. of leaves, leaf width, leaf length, root length and root diameter were observed on 3 month old seedlings in six different media mixtures during year 2019-20. The germination ranges from 3.63 (EC968466 at 25°C) to 81.88 percent (EC966538 at 5°C) with an average of 31.14 percent over all temperatures and genotypes. The mean germination time was ranged from 19.69 to 42.71 days with an average of 30.14 days. The highest germination (66.9%) and least mean germination time was observed at 5ºC (20.85) which showed that this crop required a 5ºC chilling treatment of about 20 days for breaking seed dormancy. The results pertaining to seedling survival experiment showed that media mixture of sand, soil, FYM and cocopeat (1:2:2:1 and 1:1:1:1 ratio) gave higher seedling survival rate (87.66%) and other morphological traits. It was also observed that the genotype EC966538 and EC968470 were the best performer for overall germination as well as seedling survival parameters and could be used as base population in future selection and improvement breeding programs.

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Physiological dormancy and seed germination inhibitors in Miconia (Melastomataceae)

Cited by 16 publications

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Frugivory and seed dispersal effectiveness in twoMiconia(Melastomataceae) species from ferruginouscampo rupestre

Frugivory and seed dispersal effectiveness in twoMiconia(Melastomataceae) species from ferruginouscampo rupestre

Interpreting Life-History Traits of Miconia (Miconia calvescens) through Management over Space and Time in the East Maui Watershed, Hawaii (USA)

Evaluation of Ferula Assa-Foetida Accessions for Germination Parameters Under Cold Stratification to Overcome Seed Dormancy and Effect of Media Mixtures on Seedling Growth

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