Environmental factors that influence the germination of Bromeliadsseeds at a physiological level

Abstract

Bromeliads are plants with epiphytic habits and in smaller quantities they develop on the ground. They are important at an ecological level since they function as indicators of environmental disturbance and intervene in nutrient and hydrological cycles. They also serve as hosts for arthropods and invertebrates, are ornamental,and have medicinal importance, which is why they are vulnerable to extraction by humans. If the germination of these plants in the wild is successful, their abundance and distribution willincrease. This review shows an analysis of the main factors that limit the germination of bromeliad seeds, a detaileddescription of the effect on germination of climatic factors such as light, temperature,and 71Revista Científica Vida NaturalUniversidad Autónoma de Chiriquírevistas.unachi.ac.paRevCient.VidNat, 2 (1) julio -diciembre, 2024, 70-81Revisión BibliográficaISSN L 2992-6424humidity is presented. In addition to some biotic factors that affect germination, which include the characteristics of the bark of the host tree, the allelopathic compounds that the bark can produce act as germination inhibitors, among others. Because bromeliads have very specific germination requirements, it is suggested that future studies explore topics in the physiology and ecology of germination processes, and thus have more detailed information on the factors that affect the germination of these seeds, both in the field and in the laboratory, tocollaborate in the conservation of these species.