Regeneration Ecology of the Rare Plant Species Verbascum dingleri: Implications for Species Conservation

Abstract

Verbascum dingleri Mattf and Stef. is a Greek endemic plant species belonging to the family of Scrophulariaceae that only occurs in northeastern Greece, east of the city of Kavala. Knowledge of species distribution, habitat requirements, reproduction, ecology, and population characteristics is limited in the literature. In this study, habitat characteristics, population counts, fruit and seed diversity, and germination were studied for the first time. The results indicate that the species geographical distribution is very restricted, lying in the Mediterranean floristic zone at a low altitude (100–200 m asl) and on very shallow soils. The habitat of this species is characterized by the Csa climate type, with a mean annual precipitation of 602 mm and a mean annual temperature of 14.6 °C. The species occurs in the area lying between the geographical coordinates 40°58′16.59″ N, 24°27′54.93 E, and 41°05′7.2″ N, 24° 47′17.2″ E. The species thrives in degraded shrub communities, dominated by the shrub species Paliurus spina-cristi Mill., Olea europea L. ssp. europaea, and Quercus coccifera L. Only a very small number of individuals were found (less than 200) at a density considered too small for long-term persistence of the species. The fruits of the species contained a high number (mean value 58.2) of minute seeds. The seeds exhibited high germination (up to 80.0% in laboratory and up to 30% in ambient conditions). We conclude that in situ and ex situ species conservation and habitat restoration are feasible through the introduction of seedlings produced from seeds collected from local populations.

<i>In vitro</i> Germination and Phytoremediation Potential of Endemic Plant Species <i>Verbascum phrygium</i> Bornm. Growing under Zinc Stress

“…Thus, seeds of V. phyrigium tolerate a range of pH in tissue culture conditions (5.5-7.0). There are similar studies showing that Verbascum genus grow in different pH ranges [46,47].…”

“…(Scrophulariaceae) is endemic to Anatolia and only grows in the Kütahya, Konya, İzmir and Afyon provinces [20]. Verbascum species are grow in a wide variety of habitats, including rocky mountains, meadows, open forests, roadsides and river banks [21][22][23]. The potential of Verbascum species to accumulate many elements in its organs were revealed in earlier studies [24][25][26][27][28].…”

Are Mediterranean forest ecosystems under the threat of invasive species Solanum elaeagnifolium?

“…Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS ® software v. 23.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The percentage values of seed germination and root regenerative ability, were arcsine-transformed to match the normality and homogeneity assumptions (Ganatsas et al 2019). One-way ANOVA was used to test significant differences between the treatments.…”

“…Although an earlier study (Stanton et al 2012) concluded that the highest germination (38%) of S. elaeagnifolium was achieved at alternating temperature 25/15 °C, in the current experiment we chose to study the effect at a constant temperature of 25 ± 1 °C and a photoperiod of 12 hours. Seeds in each treatment were watered as needed to pro-vide seeds with an adequate moisture level (Ganatsas et al 2019), respectively with a leaf extract of each of the five tree species, while in the control treatment the seeds watered with distilled water. Every 2 nd day the seeds were checked for germination and fungus infection for a duration of 45 days.…”

Is the Reproduction Capacity of Pinus brutia Stands 20 Years after Wildfire Efficient to Secure Forest Restoration in the Case of a Fire Re-Occurrence?

“…The experiments were carried out in a temperature-controlled growth chamber at 20 ± 0.5 • C with a photoperiod of 12 h and luminance of 1000 lux [20]. Seeds were watered, as needed to provide seeds with an adequate moisture level [21], with distilled water. Every second day the seeds were checked for germination and fungus infection for 45 days duration.…”