Germination performance of native and non-native Ulmus pumila populations
| Autor: | Heidi Hirsch, Catherina Wypior, Henrik von Wehrden, Karsten Wesche, Daniel Renison, Isabell Hensen |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | NeoBiota, Vol 15, Iss 0, Pp 53-68 (2012) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 1619-0033 1314-2488 |
| DOI: | 10.3897/neobiota.15.4057 |
| Popis: | Germination is a crucial step for invasive plants to extend their distribution under different environmental conditions in a new range. Therefore, information on germination characteristics of invasive plant species provides invaluable knowledge about the factors which might contribute to the invasion success. Moreover, intra-specific comparisons under controlled conditions will show if different responses between non-native and native populations are caused by evolutionary changes or by phenotypic plasticity towards different environmental influences.This paper focuses on the germination of native and non-native Ulmus pumila populations. We expected that non-native populations would be characterized by their higher final germination percentage and enhanced germination rate, which might indicate an influence due to corresponding climatic conditions.Germination experiments with a moderate and a warm temperature treatment did not reveal significant differences in final germination percentage. However, seeds from the North American non-native range germinated significantly faster than native seeds (p < 0.001). Additionally, mean time to germination in both ranges was significantly negatively correlated with annual precipitation (p = 0.022). At the same time, this relationship is stronger in the native range whereas mean time to germination in non-native populations seems to be less influenced by climatic conditions.Different germination responses of the North American populations could be caused by a fast evolutionary change mediating a higher tolerance to current climatic conditions in the non-native range. However, our findings could also be caused by artificial selection during the introduction process and extensive planting of U. pumila in its non-native range. Nevertheless, we assume that the faster germination rate of non-native populations is one potential explanation for the invasion success of U. pumila in its new range since it might provide a competitive advantage during colonization of new sites. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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