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Dynamics of the diaspore and germination stages of the life history of an annual diaspore-trimorphic species in a temperate salt desert

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Individuals of the annual halophyte Atriplex centralasiatica produce three kinds of diaspores that differ in dispersal, dormancy/germination response and type of seed bank formed, which likely is a bet-hedging strategy in the rainfall-unpredictable environment on the semi-arid, saline Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, China.

Abstract

Seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions provide germination cues for the establishment of seedlings at the right time and place to ensure plant survival and population regeneration. Diaspore heteromorphism is a phenomenon in which diaspores with stark qualitative differences in morphology and ecology are produced by the same maternal plant. Germination responses and dispersal times of the annual halophyte Atriplex centralasiatica were examined to determine the role of diaspore heteromorphism in its adaptation to salt desert conditions. A. centralasiatica is a tumbleweed that produces three types of diaspores that differ in morphology and ecophysiology. The relative potential dispersal ability and intensity of dormancy of the three diaspore types was type A (fan-shaped diaspores with yellow fruits) < type B (fan-shaped diaspores with black fruits) < type C (globular diaspores with black fruits). In the field, type A retained high germinability, but all of them were depleted from the (transient) soil seedbank in the first growing season. Types B and C cycled between dormancy and nondormancy, and 0 and > 90.0% remained in the soil seedbank 2 years after dispersal, respectively. The dormancy, dispersal and salt tolerance of type B diaspores were intermediate between those of A and C. Type A exhibited low dispersal–nondormancy, type B exhibited intermediate dispersal–intermediate dormancy and type C exhibited high dispersal ability–high dormancy. In the unpredictable salt desert habitat, the functional differences in germination and dispersal of the three diaspores act as a bet-hedging mechanism and ensure population establishment in different years by spreading germination over time and space.

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Abbreviations

Type A diaspores:

Fan-shaped diaspores produced by Atriplex centralasiatica with yellow inner fruits

Type B diaspores:

Fan-shaped diaspores produced by Atriplex centralasiatica with black inner fruits

Type C diaspores:

Globular diaspores produced by Atriplex centralasiatica with black inner fruits

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Key Basic Research and Development Plan of China (2016YFC0500805-02) and the National Natural Science Foundation of P. R. China (31870711, 31861143024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaoren Wang, Xuejun Yang, Guofang Liu & Zhenying Huang

  2. Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Jerry M. Baskin & Carol C. Baskin

  3. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA

    Carol C. Baskin

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaoren Wang

  5. Inner Mongolia Research Center for Prataculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaoren Wang, Xuejun Yang, Guofang Liu & Zhenying Huang

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  1. Zhaoren Wang
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Correspondence to Zhenying Huang.

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Wang, Z., Baskin, J.M., Baskin, C.C. et al. Dynamics of the diaspore and germination stages of the life history of an annual diaspore-trimorphic species in a temperate salt desert. Planta 251, 87 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-020-03380-8

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