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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
GERMINATION AND SEED SIZE IN ALPINE SHRUBS IN TIBETAN
PLATEAU
WU GAO-LIN1,2*
LI WEI1,2
AND DU GUO-ZHEN2
Abstract:
Seed germination is related to seed size in many herbs species, but few
studies investigated the relationship between germination and seed size
in shrubs. We examined the correlation of seed size and germination
percentage,
germination rate and germination persistence time for 29 alpine shrubs
in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Results showed that seed
size was
significant negatively correlated with coefficients of variation (r =
-0.709, p<0.001), with
germination percentage
(r = -0.682, p<0.001), and with germination rate (r
= -0.512, p=0.004).
Coefficients of
variation was significant positively correlated with
germination percentage
(r = 0.525, p=0.003) and germination rate (r =
0.522, p=0.004). It revealed that the smaller-seeded species
present a bigger variance in seed size than the larger-seeded species.
Smaller-seeded species were apt to fast and concentrative germination
strategy, but, larger-seeded species were apt to slow and stochastic
germination strategy. It appears that smaller-seeded species advance
their germination fitness by adaptive variance of seed size.
1State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess
Plateau, Northwest A and F University, Yangling 712100 Shaanxi,
P.R.China
2Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Ecology, Ministry of Education,
School of Life Sciences of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000,
P. R. China
*Corresponding
author Phone: E-mail: gaolinwu@gmail.com 86-29-87012884; Fax: 86-29-87016082
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