Grassland succession is mediated by umbelliferous colonizers showing allelopathic potential

Two Umbelliferous tall herbs – Laserpitium siler and Grafia golaka tend to form monodominant stands in the montane belt of the North Adriatic Karst after grassland abandonment. The germination and development of shade-tolerant species of further successional stages could be facilitated by favorable...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant biosystems 2011-09, Vol.145 (3), p.688-698
Main Authors: Kaligarič, M, Meister, M. H, Škornik, S, Šajna, N, Kramberger, B, Bolhàr-Nordenkampf, H. R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
allelopathy
bioassays
Canopies
canopy
Climatic conditions
climatic factors
Colonization
early development
Essential oils
Germination
Grafia golaka
Grasslands
Herbs
Laserpitium
Laserpitium siler
Limonene
pinene
Pinus
Pinus nigra
Pinus sylvestris
Reforestation
Seedlings
shade tolerance
Succession
Trees
Vegetation
woody plants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Two Umbelliferous tall herbs – Laserpitium siler and Grafia golaka tend to form monodominant stands in the montane belt of the North Adriatic Karst after grassland abandonment. The germination and development of shade-tolerant species of further successional stages could be facilitated by favorable climatic conditions, measured in the canopy, but colonization by woody species was not perceived, except for Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra, which are not common trees in the area. The vegetation history of the site shows rather slow reforestation after abandonment and almost exclusively with pine woodland. All organs of both Umbelliferous species showed high allelopathic potential, measured as significantly inhibited germination and early development of test plants in bioassays. Under similar treatments, the germination rate of P. sylvestris was reduced, but further development of seedlings was stable. One possible explanation for the relative persistence of Umbelliferous monodominant stands is the strong allelopathic potential of both umbellifers. They act as “succession retardants”, and only pinus is able to colonize these stands successfully; the explanation for that is based on the presence of the same essential oils (limonene, pinene) in both Pinus and L. siler.
ISSN:1724-5575
1126-3504
1724-5575
DOI:10.1080/11263504.2011.601338