Seed germination is a key stage for successful seedling establishment, and thus it should be considered when selecting the seed source for ecological restoration. However, how seed germination traits of wild species in the laboratory contribute to seedling emergence and establishment under natural conditions is not well known. In this study, seeds from 12 populations collected in 2017 and 14 additional populations collected in 2018 of Stipa breviflora were used for laboratory germination tests and field seedling establishment evaluation in the Alxa Desert and at Yuzhong on the Loess Plateau. Depending on germination conditions, seed germination percentage showed a positive, negative, or no correlation with the latitude of seed collection. Seedlings derived from seeds collected in southern populations had a higher establishment percentage in southern growing sites than those from northern populations, and vice versa, suggesting that populations are locally adapted at the seedling survival stage. Germination in laboratory was generally positively correlated with seedling emergence in the field. There was positive relationship between lab germination and field seedling survival at Yuzhong Station, while negative relationship was observed at Alxa Station. These results suggested that high germination percentages could be adaptive or maladaptive depending on offspring growth conditions. Thus, seed source selection based on germination traits should take offspring growing conditions into consideration.

中文翻译：

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种子萌发性状预测幼苗出现而不是短花针茅在纬度梯度种群中的存活

种子萌发是成苗成功的关键阶段，因此在选择进行生态修​​复的种子来源时应予以考虑。然而，实验室中野生物种的种子萌发性状如何促进自然条件下的幼苗出苗和建立尚不清楚。在这项研究中，来自 2017 年收集的 12 个种群和 2018 年收集的 14 个额外种群的种子短花针茅用于阿拉善沙漠和黄土高原榆中的实验室萌发试验和田间苗木定植评价。根据发芽条件，种子发芽率与种子收集纬度呈正相关、负相关或无相关关系。从南方种群收集的种子中提取的幼苗在南方生长点的定植率高于北方种群，反之亦然，表明种群在幼苗存活阶段进行了局部适应。实验室发芽一般与田间出苗呈正相关。榆中站实验室发芽与田间幼苗成活率呈正相关，阿拉善站则呈负相关。这些结果表明，高发芽率可能是适应性的，也可能是适应不良的，这取决于后代的生长条件。因此，基于发芽性状的种子来源选择应考虑后代的生长条件。