Effect of Extracts from Dominant Forest Floor Species of Clear-Cuts on the Regeneration and Initial Growth of Pinus sylvestris L. with Respect to Climate Change.

Vaida Sirgedaitė-Šėžienė,Adas Marčiulynas,Virgilijus Baliuckas

doi:10.3390/plants10050916

Abstract

Climate change influences the ecological environment and affects the recruitment of plants, in addition to population dynamics, including Scots pine regeneration processes. Therefore, the impact of cover-dominant species extracts on the germination of pine seeds and morpho-physiological traits of seedling under different environmental conditions was evaluated. Increasing temperature reinforces the plant-donor allelochemical effect, reduces Scots pine seed germination, and inhibits seedling morpho-physiological parameters. Conditions unfavourable for the seed germination rate were observed in response to the effect of aqueous extracts of 2-year-old Vaccinium vitis-ideae and 1-year-old Calluna vulgaris under changing environmental conditions. The lowest radicle length and hypocotyl growth were observed in response to the effect of 1-year-old C. vulgaris and 2-year-old Rumex acetosella under increasing temperature (+4 °C) conditions. The chlorophyll a + b concentration in control seedlings strongly decreased from 0.76 to 0.66 mg g−1 (due to current environmental and changing environmental conditions). These factors may reduce the resistance of Scots pine to the effects of dominant species and affect the migration of Scots pine habitats to more favourable environmental conditions.

Highlights

Climate change, in combination with other factors, influences the ecological environment; subsequently, this clearly affects the recruitment and population dynamics of plants [1]
Our findings show that the higher temperature was the main factor that increased the inhibitory effect of plant-donor aqueous extracts on germination of seeds and initial growth of seedlings
Our results indicated that seed germination exhibited a different response to the root and shoot extracts of dominant species under different environmental conditions

Summary

Introduction

In combination with other factors, influences the ecological environment; subsequently, this clearly affects the recruitment and population dynamics of plants [1]. The early stages of the plant life-cycle are expected to be more sensitive to climate change than the adult stages and, as such, represent a major bottleneck for recruitment [2]. The pertinent issue is whether the adaptation of seeds and seedling traits can match the rate of climate change [6]. Such adaptation of annual (or herbaceous) species with rapid life cycles may occur more rapidly than that of perennial (or woody) species [7]. With respect to the plasticity and adaptations of tree species, very little is known about their germination behaviour in response to environmental changes [8,9]

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