The dynamics of recalcitrant seed banks of Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) reveal adaptations to marsh microenvironments

Abstract

The Mauritia flexuosa palm tree is widely distributed in South America, and is associated with flooded environments. It dominates the arboreal stratum in the highly threatened marsh ecosystems called “veredas” in the Cerrado biome (neotropical savanna), and its oleaginous fruits are important for the maintenance of the regional fauna and as a source of income for traditional human populations. The seeds of this palm demonstrate an unusual association of recalcitrance and dormancy, and information about its seed bank maintenance in natural environments is scarce. We measured the variations in water content, viability, and germination of seeds maintained over 1 year in four typical vereda microenvironments (edge, near the water, in the water, and at the lower zone of the vereda) and related that information to soil water contents and climatic data. Seed viability was best preserved under constantly flooded conditions (at the lower zone of the vereda), with the potential for maintaining a temporary seed bank in the aquatic environment that would favor dispersal. Although the seeds are intolerant of dehydration, they have a high capacity for maintaining their water contents under partially drained soil conditions, and overcoming dormancy is favored under those conditions. Mauritia flexuosa establishment strategies are driven by sophisticated interactions with climate and with vereda microenvironments, with a tendency for maintaining seed banks and seedling banks in localities with flooded or drained soils, respectively.