To design conservation and management strategies for sub-tropical moist forests, it is important to know how storage affects the longevity and germination of desiccation-sensitive seeds. These variables are controlled by a physiological process that is mainly associated with the seeds’ moisture content and reserve content, which can be significantly affected by environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the relationship between longevity and reserve content of sensitive and non-sensitive desiccation seeds (ii), and to describe how the in situ burial and sub-optimal storage (inside growth chambers) can affect seed longevity. In seeds of six mountain cloud forest tree species, germination and seed reserve content were quantified in seeds collected recently (control) and at five different times, along with storage for 31 or 35 days in situ and under suboptimal conditions. Freshly harvested seeds with higher soluble carbohydrate and lipid content and the presence of thermo-stable proteins had the longest-expected ecological longevity and mean germination time. In contrast to in situ burial, germination was negatively affected by storage time. Burial time significantly affected the rate and mean germination time in most of the species. For two species, a greater soluble carbohydrate or a lower starch and lipid content in seeds was found to be related to the high germination rate in storage. Our results show that the sub-optimal storage reduces the lifespan in most of the study species and increases seed damages through dehydration.

要设计亚热带湿润森林的养护和管理策略，重要的是要知道储存如何影响对干燥敏感的种子的寿命和发芽率。这些变量是由生理过程控制的，该过程主要与种子的水分含量和储备含量有关，而种子的水分含量和储备含量会受到环境条件的显着影响。这项研究的目的是：（i）评估敏感和非敏感干燥种子的寿命与储备含量之间的关系（ii），并描述原位埋葬和次优存储（在生长室内）会影响种子的寿命。在六个山云林树种的种子中，对最近（对照）和五个不同时间收集的种子中的发芽和种子储备含量进行了定量，并在非最佳条件下原位保存了31或35天。新鲜收获的种子具有较高的可溶性碳水化合物和脂质含量，并且存在热稳定蛋白，具有最长的预期生态寿命和平均发芽时间。与原位相反埋藏时，发芽时间受到储存时间的不利影响。埋葬时间显着影响大多数物种的发芽率和平均发芽时间。对于两个物种，发现种子中较高的可溶性碳水化合物或较低的淀粉和脂质含量与储存中的高发芽率有关。我们的结果表明，次优存储减少了大多数研究物种的寿命，并通过脱水增加了对种子的损害。