Irrigation and Fertilization Effects on Seed Number, Size, Germination and Seedling Growth: Implications for Desert Shrub Establishment

Plants with limited resources adjust partitioning among growth, survival, and reproduction. We tested the effects of water and nutrient amendments on seed production, size, and quality in Sarcobatus vermiculatus (greasewood) to assess the magnitude and importance of changes in reproductive partition...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oecologia 2008-08, Vol.157 (1), p.13-19
Main Authors: Breen, A. N., Richards, J. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Demecology
Desert Climate
Deserts
Ecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Germination
Hydrology/Water Resources
Life Sciences
Magnoliopsida - embryology
Magnoliopsida - growth & development
Magnoliopsida - metabolism
Nitrogen - metabolism
Physiological Ecology - Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Plants
Sarcobatus vermiculatus
Seed production
Seed quality
Seed size
Seed weight
Seedling growth
Seedlings
Seedlings - growth & development
Seedlings - metabolism
Seeds - anatomy & histology
Seeds - growth & development
Seeds - metabolism
Shrubs
Water - metabolism
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Summary:Plants with limited resources adjust partitioning among growth, survival, and reproduction. We tested the effects of water and nutrient amendments on seed production, size, and quality in Sarcobatus vermiculatus (greasewood) to assess the magnitude and importance of changes in reproductive partitioning. In addition, we assessed interactions among the environment of seed-producing plants (adult plant scale), seed size, and seedling microenvironment (seedling scale) on successful seedling establishment. Interactions of these factors determine the scale of resource heterogeneity that affects seedling establishment in deserts. Both total number of seeds produced per plant and seed quality (weight and germination) increased significantly in the enriched treatment in a 3-year field experiment. Seedling length 3 days after germination and seed N concentration, other measures of seed quality, were higher for seed from both irrigated and enriched plants than for seed from control plants. Field S. vermiculatus seed production and quality can be substantially increased with irrigation and nutrient enrichment at the adult plant scale and this allows management of seed availability for restoration. However, based on a greenhouse study, seedling environment, not the environment of the seed-producing plant or seed size, was the most important factor affecting seedling germination, survival, and growth. Thus it appears that production of more seed may be more important than improved seed quality, because higher quality seed did not compensate for a low-resource seedling environment. For both natural establishment and restoration this suggests that heterogeneity at the scale of seedling microsites, perhaps combined with fertilization of adult shrubs (or multi-plant patches), would produce the greatest benefit for establishing seedlings in the field.
ISSN:0029-8549
1432-1939
DOI:10.1007/s00442-008-1049-3