Abstract Understanding the effects of long-term seed storage on germination is important to elucidate both soil seed bank dynamics and capacity of seeds to be preserved in ex situ conservation programs. We collected seeds 13 cactus species from central Argentina and conducted the following experiments: germination of freshly collected seeds (2011) and germination of seeds stored for 3 (2014) and 7 years (2018) at ambient temperature. Seeds were germinated in a chamber at 25 °C and a 12 h light/12 h darkness photoperiod. After 3 years, germination decreased in 10 of the species, and only one species did not germinate. After 7 years, germination was null in 10 species, very low in two species and relatively high in only one. Our results suggest that most species might form a short-term persistent seed bank, but not a permanent soil seed bank. From a conservation point of view, our results suggest that seeds of cactus species from central Argentina would need other storage conditions, such as low temperatures. We propose a mechanism to explain why cactus seeds do not have a high longevity.

中文翻译：

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长期种子储存对阿根廷中部13种仙人掌发芽的影响

摘要 了解长期种子储存对发芽的影响对于阐明土壤种子库动态和在异地保护计划中保存种子的能力很重要。我们从阿根廷中部收集了 13 种仙人掌的种子，并进行了以下实验：新鲜收集的种子（2011 年）的发芽和在环境温度下储存 3 年（2014 年）和 7 年（2018 年）的种子发芽。种子在 25°C 和 12 小时光照/12 小时黑暗光周期的室内发芽。3年后，10个物种的发芽率下降，只有1个物种没有发芽。7年后，10个物种的发芽无效，两个物种的发芽率很低，只有一个物种的发芽率相对较高。我们的结果表明，大多数物种可能会形成短期持久的种子库，但不会形成永久性的土壤种子库。从保护的角度来看，我们的结果表明来自阿根廷中部的仙人掌物种的种子需要其他储存条件，例如低温。我们提出了一种机制来解释为什么仙人掌种子的寿命不长。