Germinating seeds or bulbils in 87 of 113 tested Arctic species indicate potential for ex situ seed bank storage

Abstract

Arctic plant species are expected to lose range due to climate change. One approach to preserve the genetic and species diversity for the future is to store propagules in seed vaults. However, germinability of seeds is assumed to be low for Arctic species. We evaluated ex situ storage potential of 113 of the 161 native angiosperms of Svalbard by studying seed ripening and germination. Seeds or bulbils were collected, and germinability was tested after one winter of storage in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Twenty-six of the species did not produce ripe propagules, 8 produced bulbils, and 79 produced seeds. Bulbils sprouted to high percentages. Seeds of 10 species did not germinate, 22 had low germination (\20 %), 34 had germination of 21-70 %, and 13 had high germination percentages ([70 %). More than 70 % of the species belonging to Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Juncaceae, Rosaceae, and Saxifragaceae germinated. Cold tolerant, common species had higher germination percentages than relatively thermophilous, rare species. Germination percentages were six times higher than observed in 1969 (n = 51) and 0.7 times that observed in 2008 (n = 22), indicating that recent climate warming improves germination in the Arctic. While in situ conservation is of vital importance, ex situ conservation in seed banks is a potential complementary conservation strategy for the majority of Arctic vascular plant species. For species that did not germinate, other methods for ex situ conservation should be sought, for example, growing in botanical gardens.

Past Arctic aliens have passed away, current ones may stay

“…Given this, the likelihood of species spreading will increase with ongoing warming. Such a warming signal is apparent also in seed germination rates of native species, increases of which have been recorded over recent years (Alsos et al 2013;Müller et al 2011). Although climate change will likely have complex and multi-directional effects on alien species (Bellard et al 2013), and will effect species differently (Tables 1, 2), our data support the expectation that it will mainly favour the establishment and spread of alien species in the Arctic.…”

Vegetation diversity and selected abiotic factors influencing the primary succession process on the foreland of Gåsbreen, Svalbard

“…Despite the fact that the germination level in the field is usually much lower than under experimental conditions (Müller et al 2011;Alsos et al 2013) seed production seems to play an important role in the succession process. Three main ways of pollination occur among the studied species: by insects (Saxifraga spp., Draba spp.…”

“…The majority of the plant species reproduces mainly sexually, producing large amounts of seeds with high germination capacity (Cooper et al 2004;Alsos et al 2013). Despite the fact that the germination level in the field is usually much lower than under experimental conditions (Müller et al 2011;Alsos et al 2013) seed production seems to play an important role in the succession process.…”

“…For Saxifraga oppositifolia, vegetative reproduction seems to be much more effective than producing seeds which germinate only in about 2% under natural outdoor conditions on a moraine (Müller et al 2011;Alsos et al 2013). The group of species reproducing mostly vegetatively includes also Cerastium regelli and Saxifraga cernua.…”

Arctic Plants Produce Vastly Different Numbers of Flowers in Three Contrasting Years at Lake Hazen, Quttinirpaaq National Park, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

“…Arctic plants have low rates of sexual reproductive success and, in theory, warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons resulting from recent climate change should increase sexual reproductive success (Bliss 1971;Wookey et al 1993;Muller et al 2011;Alsos et al 2013). However, the extreme events and more varied climate, also associated with recent climate change (Easterling et al 2000a(Easterling et al , 2000bSemenchuk et al 2013), might be problematic for sexual reproductive success of Arctic plants given the 2+ year cycle to produce flowers (Inouye and McGuire 1991;Inouye 2008;Semenchuk et al 2013).…”