Seed Dispersal, Seedling Survival and Habitat Affinity in a Snowbed Plant: Limits to the Distribution of the Snow Buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus

Seed Dispersal, Seedling Survival and Habitat Affinity in a Snowbed Plant: Limits to the Distribution of the Snow Buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus

We studied the roles of seed dispersal and seedling survival in limiting the distribution of Ranunculus adoneus to alpine snowbed habitats. Achenes of R. adoneus fall directly below the infructescence within 15 cm of the maternal plant. Secondary seed movement is also restricted, with seeds transpor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oikos Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 405 - 413
Main Authors: Scherff, E. J., Galen, C., Stanton, M. L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Munksgaard International Publishers, Ltd 01-04-1994
Blackwell
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Demecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitats
Meadows
Mycorrhizae
Plants
Plants and fungi
Population ecology
Ranunculus adoneus
Seed dispersal
Seedlings
Seeds
Soil sterilization
Wildlife habitats
United States
North America
Colorado
America
USA
Seeds
Ranunculaceae
Plant juvenile growth stage
Ranunculus
Survival
Dispersion
Alpine vegetation
Spatial distribution
Mountain
Dicotyledones
Mat vegetation
Angiospermae
Niche
Population dynamics
Herbaceous plant
Spermatophyta
Habitat
Snow cover
Colonization
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Summary:We studied the roles of seed dispersal and seedling survival in limiting the distribution of Ranunculus adoneus to alpine snowbed habitats. Achenes of R. adoneus fall directly below the infructescence within 15 cm of the maternal plant. Secondary seed movement is also restricted, with seeds transported only, on average, an additional 10 cm during snowmelt the following spring. The distribution of R. adoneus seeds in the soil mirrors this view of highly restricted dispersal. Snowbed soil contains an average of 0.033 seeds per cm3, but snow buttercup seeds are not found 20-40 m away in meadows bordering the snowbed. These findings suggest that limited seed dispersal acts to confine recruitment to locations within parental habitats. Transplanted seedlings in meadow and snowbed microsites had statistically indistinguishable survival rates over their first growing season. However, causes of seedling mortality differed between habitats. Risk of seedling desiccation was fourfold higher in snowbed than meadow vegetation. In contrast, predation by small mammals occurred only in meadow microsites. These findings imply that genotypes appropriate for regeneration in the snowbed are probably poorly suited for colonization of adjacent plant communities. Experimental modification of transplanting destinations in the meadow showed that microsites most conducive to growth and survival of snow buttercup seedlings provided opportunities for rapid infection by VA mycorrhizae in the absence of neighboring vegetation. Such combinations of environmental factors are probably rare and ephemeral.
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ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
DOI:10.2307/3545853