Environmental correlates of seed weight of tropical semi-arid woody species

Abstract

The survival and distribution of plant species in the extreme environmental conditions of semi-arid regions is strongly dependent on traits associated with drought resistance. Seed weight may be particularly important, since larger seeds are predicted to promote survival in harsh environments, especially those of low soil moisture. Here, we test this hypothesis using data on the seed weight of 277 woody plant species in the semi-arid Caatinga biome of northeast Brazil. We used Structural Equation Models (SEM) to test for associations between seed weight and biophysical conditions, including temperature, precipitation, climatic seasonality, soil-vegetation interaction and soil compaction. Species occurrence data were geographically biased due to large areas of the biome that remain under-collected. The strongest statistical association was between seed weight and soil compaction, with mean temperature of the driest quarter and aridity directly influencing soil compaction (and indirectly influencing seed weight). We conclude that the larger seeds of woody species in the Caatinga are primarily an adaptation to compacted soil, uneven distribution of rainfall and high temperatures, intrinsic conditions of the Caatinga biome.