Effects of drought and temperature on the germination of seeds of Seriphidium transiliense, a desert xerophytic subshrub of Xinjiang, China

Abstract

Global warming has led to changes in rainfall patterns in many regions and it has an increasing impact on the availability of water for plants, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. Seed germination is the most critical stage in the plant life cycle, it determines whether or not the population can successfully establish. Here, we assessed the seed germination characteristics of Seriphidium transiliense under six water potentials and four temperature regimes. S. transiliense seeds could germinate from 5/15°C to 20/30°C, while the optimum temperature regime was 10/20°C. As water potential decreased, the germination percentage, germination index, germination energy, vigour index, plumule length and radicle length increased and then decreased, while mean time to germinate decreased and then increased. The optimum condition for S. transiliense seed germination was -0.2 MPa at 10/20°C. Some seeds that failed to germinate under drought conditions were transferred to distilled water and recovered germination ability.