Seed Size and Germination Response: A Relationship for Fire-following Plant Species Exposed to Thermal Shock

Thermal shock is well known to be an important stimulus for the germination of soil-stored seeds in fire-prone plant communities. Nevertheless, while the overall germination response of different species is known to vary, the interaction between seed size and germination to a range of thermal-shock...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Oecologia Vol. 134; no. 1; pp. 18 - 22
Main Authors:	Hanley, M. E., J. E. Unna, Darvill, B.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin Springer-Verlag 01-01-2003 Springer
Subjects:	Adaptation, Physiological Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Autoecology Biological and medical sciences Biological Evolution Ecophysiology Fabaceae - physiology Forest and land fires Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Germination Germination - physiology High temperature Hot Temperature Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection Plant Physiological Phenomena Plants Plants and fungi Seed germination Seed size Seeds Seeds - anatomy & histology Seeds - physiology Soil plant interactions Species Thermal shock Weather damages. Fires Western Australia Australia Western Australia Oceania Temperature Seeds Plant community Interspecific comparison Germination Size Environmental factor Stimulation High temperature Ecophysiology Fabaceae Heat Plant Fire ecology Leguminosae Dicotyledones Thermal shock Angiospermae Emergence Post-fire regeneration Spermatophyta Vegetation fire Heat shock
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Summary:	Thermal shock is well known to be an important stimulus for the germination of soil-stored seeds in fire-prone plant communities. Nevertheless, while the overall germination response of different species is known to vary, the interaction between seed size and germination to a range of thermal-shock temperatures is poorly understood. This interaction may be important in regulating post-fire plant community establishment, since larger seeds are able to emerge from deeper within the soil profile than smaller seeds, and are therefore likely to be insulated against high above-ground temperatures by a deeper soil covering. In this experiment we examined how germination of eight co-occurring Western Australian fire-followers was influenced by thermal shock, and whether germination was significantly correlated with seed size. We found that small-seeded species not only showed enhanced germination at higher temperatures, but that their ability to germinate at higher temperatures was also greater than that displayed by larger-seeded species. These findings suggest that while seed size may be a useful general predictor of post-fire recruitment success, under different fire regimes the interaction between seed size, maximum seedling emergence depth, and the ability to withstand different thermal-shock temperatures is complex and may confound recent predictive models.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0029-8549 1432-1939
DOI:	10.1007/s00442-002-1094-2