Studies on diaspore germination in native species with low economic relevance but great ecological significance have been based on a wide range of sample sizes. However, can the sample size change the physiological inferences made from germination measurements? To answer this question, diaspores of six Cerrado species were evaluated for germinability, germination time (initial, mean, and final), germination velocity (mean germination rate and Maguire’s rate), coefficient of variation of the germination time, and synchronization index of the germination process. Germinability, final time, mean time, and synchronization index were robust with respect to sample size fluctuation. Maguire’s rate, initial time, coefficient of variation of the germination time, and mean germination rate, in contrast, were affected by sample size fluctuation, at least in one of the species tested. The robustness of the time measurements and the synchronization index also demonstrates that the germination process occurs in a cadenced rhythm, much like a biological clock. Among the measurements evaluated, Maguire’s rate is the only one that must be avoided, since it is strongly influenced by sample size and by the balance between germinability and mean germination rate. These results demonstrate that sample size can affect inferences about the germination process and can compromise restoration and (or) conservation efforts.

RESUMOÉ comum encontrar na literatura trabalhos sobre germinação de sementes nativas de uma mesma espécie com tamanhos de amostra diferenciados. No entanto, não se sabe quais são as consequências disso para os resultados obtidos. Assim, objetivou-se estudar o comportamento das medidas de germinação frente à variação do número de sementes que compõe a amostra para Bowdichia virgilioides. O experimento foi conduzido em câmara de germinação, sob luz branca fluorescente contínua, a 26,2 ± 2,5 ºC. O delineamento utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3 x 3 (três tamanhos de amostra x três lotes), com número de repetições fixo e igual a quatro. A semeadura foi realizada em caixas tipo gerbox, contendo 25, 50 ou 100 sementes, perfazendo 100, 200 ou 400 sementes por amostra. A germinabilidade, tempo inicial, médio e final, velocidade média e VE (IVG), coeficiente de variação do tempo, incerteza e sincronia da germinação foram avaliados, sendo consideradas germinadas as sementes com protrusão de embrião. Gráficos de frequência relativa também foram construídos. Dentre estas medidas, as mais frágeis ao incremento do tamanho da amostra foram o VE e a incerteza. O VE, além de ser influenciado pelo tamanho da amostra, também foi influenciado pelo contrabalancear entre germinabilidade e velocidade média, demonstrando ser uma medida imprópria para mensurar velocidade de germinação quando a capacidade germinativa dos lotes for diferente. As medidas de tempo, uniformidade, sincronia, velocidade média e a germinabilidade não tiveram seus resultados afetados pelos diferentes tamanhos da amostra. A germinabilidade, entretanto, mostrou-se a medida mais estável do processo germinativo, não sendo influenciada pelo tamanho da amostra, mesmo quando analisada por meio de lotes com qualidades muito discrepantes. Palavras-chave: teste de germinação; qualidade fisiológica; sucupira-preta; tamanho ótimo de amostra. ABSTRACTIt is usual to find papers about seed germination of native species using different sample sizes. However, the consequences of these procedures on the results are unknown. This study measured the germination process of Bowdichia virgilioides based on different seed sample sizes. The assay was conducted in a germination chamber under continuous fluorescent white lamps and 26.2 ± 2.5 ºC. The design was completely randomized, as a 3 x 3 factorial (three sample sizes x three seed lots), with four replications per treatment. The sowing was done in gerbox, each one containing 25 seeds, making up 100, 200 and 400 seeds per sample analyzed. Germinability, time (first, average and final), speed (mean germination rate and Maguire's index -VE or IVG), coefficient of variation of the germination time, uncertainty and synchrony of the germination process were evaluated. Those seeds with embryo protrusion were considered germinated. Germination relative frequency graphics were also made. Among these measurements, the most fragile to

We are clarifying how the functional embryo growth occurs in germinating seeds of Solanum lycocarpum A. St.‐Hil., a nurse plant with a central role in forest dynamics in the Cerrado (a biodiversity hotspot). For that, we used classical seed germination measurements (germinability, mean germination time, mean germination rate, coefficient of variation of the germination time, synchronisation index and germination time range) and gene expression of mRNA codifying key proteins/enzymes for the success in the seed–seedling transition (Cyclin, Actin, Small Heat Shock Protein, Glutathione S‐transferase, Malate Dehydrogenase, Alcohol Dehydrogenase). Our findings demonstrate: (a) Although germination kinetics in S. lycocarpum seeds is slower than that in tomato seeds, the fold change of genes codifying key enzymes for the embryo development is similar in germinating seeds of both species. (b) The genes used here are useful, from a technical point of view, for classifying commercial seed samples of the species in relation to physiological quality. More notably, cyclin and malate dehydrogenase genes have a greater expression, both in germination sensu stricto and in immediate post‐germination. (c) A molecular framework for the embryo growth in germinating seeds of S. lycocarpum can be a functional explication for the species to be a nurse plant. Thus, the overlapping of classical and contemporary measurements is especially interesting to those species playing a central role in the environment, such as nurse plants, and may represent a new conservationist paradigm.

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We demonstrated that classical biophysical measurements of water dynamics on germinating diaspores (seeds and other dispersal units) can improve the understanding of the germination process in a simpler, safer, and newer way. This was done using diaspores of cultivated species as a biological model. To calculate the water dynamics measurements (weighted mass, initial diffusion coefficient, velocity, and acceleration), we used the mass of diaspores recorded over germination time. Weighted mass of germinating diaspores has a similar pattern, independent of the physiological quality, species, or genetic improvement degree. However, the initial diffusion coefficient (related to imbibition per se), velocity, and acceleration (related to the whole germination metabolism) are influenced by species characters, highlighting the degree of genetic improvement and physiological quality. Changes in the inflection of velocity curves demonstrated each phase of germination sensu stricto. There is no pattern related to the number of these phases, which could range between three and six. Regression models can demonstrate initial velocity and velocity increments for each phase, giving an idea of the management of germinative metabolism. Our finds demonstrated that germination is a polyphasic process with a species-specific pattern but still set by the degree of genetic improvement and (or) physiological quality of diaspores. Among the biophysical measurements, velocity has the greatest potential to define the germination metabolism.