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Germination of fresh and frost-treated seeds from dry Central Asian steppes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

K. Wesche ,
M. Pietsch ,
K. Ronnenberg ,
R. Undrakh  and
I. Hensen
K. Wesche*
Affiliation:
Institute of Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany
M. Pietsch
Affiliation:
Institute of Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany
K. Ronnenberg
Affiliation:
Institute of Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany
R. Undrakh
Affiliation:
Faculty of Biology, National University of Mongolia, PO Box 377, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
I. Hensen
Affiliation:
Institute of Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany
*
*Correspondence: Fax: +49 345 55 27228 Email: karsten.wesche@botanik.uni-halle.de
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Abstract

We tested the germination of fresh and frost-treated seeds of 26 species of southern Mongolian mountain and desert steppes, covering the major growth forms of woody and herbaceous perennials and short-lived species in the region. In the field, germination depends on rains that are largely restricted to the summer months between June and August. Thus, germination tests were performed at alternating conditions of 10°C in darkness and 20°C in light (12 h/12 h), which correspond to temperatures at the study site in early and late summer. Seeds of both woody and herbaceous perennials germinated well under the chosen conditions and apparently did not require stratification or scarification. In contrast, germination of annual species was mostly below 30%, while seed viability was equally high in all three growth forms. Winter conditions, simulated by freezing dried seeds at −18°C, hardly changed seed germination in the perennial species, but several short-lived species responded with increased germination. Short-lived species are not abundant in the real vegetation, which is governed by perennials. Thus, we conclude that the important species in Mongolian mountain steppes germinate readily without a dormancy-breaking treatment. A review of the available literature revealed that a complete lack of dormancy, or presence of only conditional dormancy, is also widely described for other species of Central Asian deserts and steppes, which is in contrast to data from North American prairies.

Keywords

ChinaclimatedormancygerminationMongoliasteppe
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 123 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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