Germination Of Native Grasses Research Articles

Seed traits and germination of native grasses and invasive forbs are largely insensitive to parental temperature and CO2concentration

AbstractThe structure and function of grassland ecosystems can be altered by a changing climate, including higher temperature and elevated atmospheric CO2concentration. Previous studies suggest that there is no consistent trend in seed germination and seedling recruitment as affected by these conditions. We collected seeds of two native and two invasive species over 6 years from a field study with elevated CO2(600 p.p.m.) and temperature (1.5/3.0°C day/night) on the mixed-grass prairie of Wyoming, USA. Seed fill, viability and mass were evaluated and germination tests were conducted under alternating temperatures in growth chambers. Thermal time requirements to reach 50% germination (θ50) and base temperatures (Tb) for germination were determined using thermal time models. Climate change conditions had limited effects on seed fill, viability and mass. The combination of CO2enrichment and warming increased germination ofBouteloua gracilis.Centaurea diffusaandLinaria dalmatica, two invasive species in this study, had the lowest θ50andTbrequired for germination among all the species studied. Although final germination percentages of these invasive species were not affected by treatments, previous studies reported increased seed production under future climate conditions, indicating that they could be more invasive at the regeneration stage in the future. We conclude that projected future temperature increases will have little effect on seed reproductive traits of native species. In addition, the distribution and abundance ofB. gracilisand invasive species may be favoured by global climate change due to enhanced germination or seed production traits caused by elevated parental CO2and temperature conditions.

Roadway Deicer Effects on the Germination of Native Grasses and Forbs

Normal seed germination of native herbaceous species can be reduced by high concentrations of deicer products and their constituent salts. Chloride salts are commonly used during the winter months in temperate climates to remove ice and snow. Although these products greatly improve driving conditions, they can have detrimental effects on the vegetation growing along highways. The purpose of this laboratory study was to determine the impact of a magnesium-based deicer product and a sodium-based deicer product and the major salts they contain on the germination and viability of several species of grasses and forbs native to Colorado and planted in revegetation seedings there. Seeds were placed on blotter paper saturated with either a water control, one of three concentrations of each of the deicing solutions, or one of three concentrations of a pure NaCl or MgCl2 solution. Increasing concentrations of salt ions generally resulted in delayed and reduced normal seed germination, especially the sodium- and magnesium-based deicer solutions. Germination for most species was lower when seeds were grown in deicer solution compared with germination percent of seeds grown in the pure salt solutions. Some species were more tolerant of one of the salts and deicers. Species with C4 photosynthetic pathway were more tolerant than C3 species of high concentrations of both deicer products. Those species which attained the highest germination percent under moderate or high solution concentrations included blue grama, buffalograss, little bluestem, mountain brome, and slender wheatgrass.

Germination of native grasses with potential application in the recovery of degraded areas in Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil

Native grasses are potential species to be used in land rehabilitation. However, due to the lack of better knowledge of their performance, preference is given to exotic plants, which may be invasive and negatively affect the local biodiversity. In order to better understand the propagation of native species of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Minas Gerais, Brazil) using their seeds, and in so doing, indicate possible candidates for land rehabilitation, this study investigated the germination patterns of the following grasses: Andropogon bicornis L.; Andropogon leucostachyus Kunth; Setaria parviflora (Poir.) Kerguélen; Cenchrus brownii Roem. & Schult; Echinolaena inflexa (Poir.) Chase, and Apochloa euprepes (Renvoize) Zuloaga & Morrone. The spikelets (depending on the species, removing or not the structures that surround the caryopsis) were treated as follows: T1-Control, T2-moistening with 0.2% potassium nitrate, T3-heating at 80 ºC for 2 minutes, T4-scarification with sulfuric acid (except genus Andropogon) and, for genera Andropogon and Setaria T5-storage at room temperature and T6- refrigerated storage. The treatment was repeated four times for 25 caryopses incubated at 25 ºC and constant light. Significant variation was observed when comparing germination rates from week to week, treatment to treatment and species to species. The most efficient treatment for genus Andropogon was T6, followed by T2 for A. bicornis and T3 for A. leucostachyus. T6 was also the most effective treatment for S. parviflora, followed by T5 and T2. C. brownii showed similar results when applying T1, T2 and T3 (mean 39%). E. inflexa and A. euprepes showed high levels of dormancy that were not overcome by the proposed treatments. A. bicornis, A. leucostachyus, S. parviflora and C. brownii showed higher germination potential, thus being possible candidates for the recovery of degraded areas. Future studies are indicated to find the most effective treatments for germination in field conditions.