Geographic patterns and environmental drivers of seed traits of a relict tree species

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.003

CORC > 武汉植物园 > 中国科学院武汉植物园

	Geographic patterns and environmental drivers of seed traits of a relict tree species
	Wang, Shitong 1,2; Wu, Hao 1,2; Meng, Hongjie 1; Jiang, Mingxi 1; Wei, Xinzeng 1
刊名	FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
	2018-08-15
卷号	422 页码:59-68
关键词	Climatic factors Geographic variation Germination Relict species Soil nutrients Seed traits
ISSN号	0378-1127
DOI	10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.003
英文摘要	Seed traits related to recruitment can directly affect plant fitness and persistence. Phenotypic variability in seed traits among populations could increase species resilience and reduce the risk of extinction under climate change. However, seed trait variations along geographic gradients of relict mountain tree species remain poorly explored despite their vulnerability to environmental changes. Here, we collected seeds of Euptelea pleiospermum from 18 populations across its natural distribution in China, measured seed morphology and seed nutrients, and performed a germination test. We investigated geographic patterns of seed traits and analyzed the relationships between environmental factors and seed traits. We also analyzed the relationships between seed intrinsic attributes and seed germination percentage. In addition, we explored the direct and indirect effects of climatic and edaphic variables on seed germination percentage. We found substantial variation in seed traits of this species among populations. Seed mass decreased from low to high latitude, and seed size (length and width) decreased with longitude from west to east. Seed germination timing increased from low to high altitude. Temperature and soil phosphorus determined the geographic variation of seed traits. Seed mass and seed nitrogen had positive effects on seed germination percentage. Seed intrinsic attributes, rather than maternal environmental factors, were the dominant drivers of the variability in seed germination percentage. However, maternal environmental variables could indirectly affect the seed germination percentage through their effects on seed morphology and nutrients. These results demonstrate that among-population seed trait variations are mainly driven by climatic variables and soil nutrients, and indicate that climate warming is likely to alter seed germination patterns by shifting seed intrinsic attributes. Our study provides insight into how mountain tree species regulate seed traits and germination time to adapt to heterogeneous environments and improves our power to predict how relict plants may respond to climate change.
资助项目	National Natural Science Foundation of China[31570528] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[31770572] ; State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change[LVEC-2016kfxx]
WOS研究方向	Forestry
语种	英语
出版者	ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
WOS记录号	WOS:000433653900007
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://202.127.146.157/handle/2RYDP1HH/5371]
专题	中国科学院武汉植物园
通讯作者	Wei, Xinzeng
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Wuhan Bot Garden, Key Lab Aquat Bot & Watershed Ecol, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Dept Life Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Wang, Shitong,Wu, Hao,Meng, Hongjie,et al. Geographic patterns and environmental drivers of seed traits of a relict tree species[J]. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,2018,422:59-68.
APA	Wang, Shitong,Wu, Hao,Meng, Hongjie,Jiang, Mingxi,&Wei, Xinzeng.(2018).Geographic patterns and environmental drivers of seed traits of a relict tree species.FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,422,59-68.
MLA	Wang, Shitong,et al."Geographic patterns and environmental drivers of seed traits of a relict tree species".FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 422(2018):59-68.