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科研新闻 |
| 鄂尔多斯生态站人员在气生和土壤种子库方面的研究被Annals of Botany接收 |
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时间: 2014-08-15 点击率: 73309 |
| 摘 要： Aerial and soil seed banks enable populations of an annual species to cope with an unpredictable dune ecosystem
Ruiru Gao, Xuejun Yang, Fan Yang, Lingling Wei, Zhenying Huang and Jeffrey L.Walck
同时形成气生和土壤种子库是一些植物在不可预测生境中的种群维持机制。但我们对于这两种种子库在沙丘环境中植物种群动态中的作用还不了解。我们对鄂尔多斯沙地中荒漠植物沙米的种子传播、萌发、幼苗出土和存活进行了研究，以确定两种种子库的不同作用。我们发现，在整个生长季节中，气生种子库都高于土壤种子库的数量，种子传播与风速有正相关关系。与土壤种子库相比，气生种子库的种子在低温下的萌发率较低，但在光照条件下较高。早出土的幼苗（4月15日－5月15日）因出现霜冻而死亡，但晚一个月出土的幼苗存活至成功繁殖。因此，种子传播时间不同以及两种种子库之间的不同萌发特性为幼苗出土和建成创造了不同的时机，因而成功适应不可预测的生境。
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Simultaneous formation of aerial and soil seed banks by a species provides a mechanism for population maintenance in unpredictable environments. Eolian activity greatly affects growth and regeneration of plants in a sand dune system, but we know little about the difference in the contributions of these two seed banks to population dynamics in sand dunes.
METHODS: Seed release, germination, seedling emergence and survival of a desert annual, Agriophyllum squarrosum (Chenopodiaceae), inhabiting the Ordos Sandland in China, were determined in order to explore the different functions of the aerial and soil seed banks.
KEY RESULTS: The size of the aerial seed bank was higher than that of the soil seed bank throughout the growing season. Seed release was positively related to wind velocity. Compared with the soil seed bank, seed germination from the aerial seed bank was lower at low temperature (5/15 °C night/day) but higher in the light. Seedling emergence from the soil seed bank was earlier than that from the aerial seed bank. Early-emerged (15 April-15 May) seedlings died due to frost, but seedlings that emerged during the following months survived to reproduce successfully.
CONCLUSIONS: The timing of seed release and different germination behaviour resulted in a temporal heterogeneity of seedling emergence and establishment between the two seed banks. The study suggests that a bet-hedging strategy for the two seed banks enables A. squarrosum populations to cope successfully with the unpredictable desert environment. |
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