Differential responses of the seed germination of three functional groups to low temperature and darkness in a typical steppe, Northern China

PeerJ

article

Mengzhou Liu¹  Ning Qiao²  Bing Zhang²  Fengying Liu³  Yuan Miao²  Ji Chen⁴  Yanfeng Sun⁷  Peng Wang⁸  Dong Wang² 

[1] College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University;International Joint Research Laboratory of Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University;Institute of Microbial Engineering, Laboratory of Bioresource and Applied Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University;Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University;iCLIMATE Interdisciplinary Centre for Climate Change, Aarhus University;Aarhus University Centre for Circular Bioeconomy, Aarhus University;State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University;Hanzhong Urban Planning and Architectural Design Institute

关键词: Darkness;    Germination percentage;    Global change;    Plant diversity;    semiarid region;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14485

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Seed germination is a key stage in the life history of plants, which has a crucial effect on plant community structure. Climate change has substantially altered the surface soil temperature and light availability, which can affect seed germination. However, whether the seed germination of different functional groups is affected by the interactions of light and temperature remains unclear. Under laboratory conditions, we examined the effects of low temperature and darkness, as well as their interaction, on the seed germination of 16 species belonging to three plant functional groups (annual and biennials, perennial grasses, and perennial forbs) in a typical steppe, Northern China. We found that low temperature had a significant negative effect on seed germination of all species. Low temperature significantly decreased the final germination percentage and germinative force of the three plant functional groups, and the germination duration of perennial grasses. Darkness significantly decreased the germinative force of perennial forbs and total seeds, and the germination duration of perennial grasses. The interactive effects of light and temperature on the seed final germination percentage and germinative force of perennial grass indicated that darkness strengthened the inhibitory effect of low temperature on the seed germination of the grass functional group. Our study indicate that the seed germination of different plant functional groups varied greatly in response to changing environmental conditions. Our results suggest that future climate change could alter the regeneration and species composition of plant communities through changing seed germination.

【 授权许可】

CC BY