Germination responses of Mediterranean populations of Cakile maritima to light, salinity and temperature

Vecchio, Silvia Del; Porceddu, Marco; Fantinato, Edy; Acosta, Alicia Teresa Rosario; Buffa, Gabriella; Bacchetta, Gianluigi

doi:10.1007/s12224-018-9332-5

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Del Vecchio et al . , ; Caruso et al . ), the drastic increase in both fruiting rate and germination capacity of H. adriaticum after hand‐pollination suggests that pollination limitation may be a widespread phenomenon among small and isolated populations of this orchid.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

et al. 2019

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The declining native orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann is a European endemic of priority interest (92/43/ EEC, Annex II). Northern Italian populations of H. adriaticum are small and isolated, with depressed seed set. Given the important implications for plant population conservation, we tested the hypothesis that artificial pollen transfer (hand-pollination) and outbreeding between populations increases fruit set and seed germination percentage.• The background fruit set and in vitro germination rates were determined for ten reference populations. An artificial cross-pollination experiment included (a) pollen transfer from one large population to two small and isolated populations; (b) pollen transfer between two small but not isolated populations; (c) within-population pollen transfer (control). All seeds were sown on a modified Malmgren's medium and cultured in a controlled environment. Germination percentage was compared using a Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA.• The background fruit set (mean = 18%) and germination (<5%) rates were consistently low across populations. Fruit set after hand-pollination was consistently 100%. Pollen transfer from the largest population to smaller populations resulted in an increase in total germination ranging from 0.9% to 2.9%. The largest increase in germination occurred between small-sized and less isolated populations (from 1.7% to 5.1%).• The results of pollen transfer between the small populations are particularly encouraging, as the mean increase in germination was almost four times that of the control. Outbreeding can be considered a valuable tool to increase genetic flow and germination in natural populations, limit the accumulation of detrimental effects on fitness driven by repeated breeding with closely-related individuals, thereby increasing the possibility of conservation of rare or endangered species.Plant Biology 21 (2019) 935-941

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

et al. 2019

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“…Monthly temperature values, averaged for the period 2004–2017, were retrieved from http://www.arpalazio.gov.it/. Therefore, seeds were exposed to 20°C, which corresponded to the average temperature in late spring (May–June) and early autumn (September–October), and to 25°C, which corresponded to the average temperature in summer (July–August; Del Vecchio, Porceddu et al , 2019). Following previous studies, Cakile and Crucianella were incubated in darkness (Debez et al , 2004; Del Vecchio et al , 2012), achieved by wrapping the dishes in two layers of aluminium foil, while Elymus was incubated in a 12/12 light/dark photoperiod (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vegetation zonation represents a striking peculiarity of coastal environments worldwide, and features such as the number of belts, their connectivity, spatial extent, and species composition are regarded as useful indicators of the conservation status of coastal systems, since their modification indicates possible alteration of the system functionality (Buffa et al , 2005; Carboni et al , 2009; Gigante et al , 2016; Fenu et al , 2017; Pinna et al , 2019; Del Vecchio et al , 2018). The turnover of species along the sea–inland gradient has been traditionally explained by adaptations and tolerance of adult plants to abiotic factors (Fenu et al , 2013; Bazzichetto et al , 2016; Torca et al , 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, while adult plants may tolerate high salt concentration as well as high temperature, in some cases they proved to be very salt‐sensitive during the germination phase and seedling development (Gul et al , 2013; Yuan et al , 2019), especially at high temperature (El‐Keblawy & Al‐Shamsi, 2008; Manzoor et al , 2017; Santo et al , 2017). Although the treatment effects vary across species, literature demonstrated that NaCl concentrations higher than 250 mM can completely suppress germination (Del Vecchio et al , 2012; Delgado Fernández et al , 2016; Santo et al , 2017; Del Vecchio, Porceddu et al , 2019), while long exposure time can have detrimental effects, leading to seed mortality (Saeed et al , 2011; Santo et al , 2014; Del Vecchio, Porceddu et al , 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The germination niche of coastal dune species as related to their occurrence along a sea–inland gradient

Vecchio

Fantinato

Roscini

et al. 2020

J Vegetation Science

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Aims The early phases in the life cycle of a plant are the bottleneck for successful species establishment thereby affecting population dynamics and distribution. In coastal environments, the spatial pattern of plant communities (i.e. vegetation zonation) follows the ecological gradient of abiotic stress changing with the distance from the sea. This pattern has been mainly explained based on the adaptation and tolerance to the abiotic stress of adult plants. However, the adult niche may considerably differ from the germination niche of a plant species. The aim of this work was to investigate to what extent abiotic factors (specifically salinity, temperature, nitrogen and their interactions) constrain seed germination along the sea–inland gradient. Location Latium coast (Central Italy). Methods Germination tests were performed on seeds of focal species of three different plant communities which establish at increasing distances from the coastline: Cakile maritima subsp. maritima, Elymus farctus, Crucianella maritima. We tested increasing concentrations of NaCl (one of the main abiotic factors which decrease across the sea–inland gradient), and their interactions with temperature and KNO3, to consider other factors which drive germination processes. Results The tolerance to salinity significantly decreased in relation to the position of species along the coastal zonation. Crucianella maritima was shown to be the least tolerant species, having a decrease in germination >80% across all conditions. KNO3 significantly (although slightly) increased the germination percentage in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima and Elymus farctus. When combined with NaCl, KNO3 alleviated the negative effects of salinity only in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima. Conclusions The germination responses to the interaction among the tested factors suggest that the germination niche may explain vegetation zonation filtering species at their early stages. Quantifying environmental niches in different phases of the life cycle of plants may provide important insights into community assembly processes.

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“…Those physiological adaptations by which the salt is prevented from entering the cells, or the excess salts are expelled thanks to the presence of secretive cells, are considered osmotic adaptations. Many of these plants have reduced their vegetative period in the winter-spring period when rainfall is more frequent and temperatures are lower, germinating especially during rainy periods, without any specific treatment or after a cold stratification period (Porceddu et al 2019), or with specific germination strategies such as the well-known "Mediterranean germination syndrome" germinating at low temperatures (Thanos et al 1989), or preferably in the dark (Del Vecchio et al 2018).…”

Section: Plant Adaptations In the Mediterranean Coastal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Alien Flora on Coastal Mediterranean Habitats

García-Berlanga¹,

Podda²,

Porceddu³

2020

Handbook of Halophytes

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The Mediterranean Basin is one of the biodiversity mega-hotspots of biodiversity, but it is also considered as one of the most disturbed areas, due to a legendary human occupation, mostly concentrated in coastal areas. These factors, together with a mild climate, explain the high impact of invasive alien plants in the Mediterranean coastline. The habitats subjected to saline influence are especially interesting and have been widely studied as species living there have developed, along evolution, special adaptations that make them unique and very valuable. This study aims to present how alien plant species behave when becoming invasive in coastal habitats of the Mediterranean Basin. Some alien invasive species outstand for their specificity regarding the habitat and pose a major challenge for environmental managers. Coming to understand their behavior can help to mitigate their impact and prepare for future invasions. The document focuses on making a comprehensive characterization, with special emphasis on germination behavior of this flora, that has become one of the most important threats for biodiversity in the Mediterranean context.

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Germination responses of Mediterranean populations of Cakile maritima to light, salinity and temperature

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

The germination niche of coastal dune species as related to their occurrence along a sea–inland gradient

Invasive Alien Flora on Coastal Mediterranean Habitats

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