Abstract
Most tree species native to arid and semiarid ecosystems produce seeds with physical dormancy, which have impermeable coats that protect them from desiccation and prevent germination when the environmental conditions are unfavorable for seedling establishment. This dormancy mechanism may confer some degree of tolerance to seeds facing warmer and drier conditions, as those expected in several regions of the world because of climate change. Scarification of these seeds (removal of protective coats) is required for stimulating germination and seedling development. However, as scarification exposes seeds to the external environmental conditions, it can promote desiccation and viability loss in the future. To test these hypotheses, we performed field experiments and sowed scarified and unscarified seeds of a pioneer tree native to semiarid ecosystems of Mesoamerica (Vachellia pennatula) under the current climate and simulated climate change conditions. The experiments were conducted at abandoned fields using open-top chambers to increase temperature and rainout shelters to reduce rainfall. We measured microenvironmental conditions within the experimental plots and monitored seedling emergence and survival during a year. Air temperature and rainfall in climate change simulations approached the values expected for the period 2041–2080. Seedling emergence rates under these climatic conditions were lower than under the current climate. Nevertheless, emergence rates in climate change simulations were even lower for scarified than for unscarified seeds, while the converse occurred under the current climate. On the other hand, although survival rates in climate change simulations were lower than under the current climate, no effects of the scarification treatment were found. In this way, our study suggests that climate change will impair the recruitment of pioneer trees in semiarid environments, even if they produce seeds with physical dormancy, but also indicates that these negative effects will be stronger if seeds are scarified.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Material availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Zenodo repository [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5510627].
References
Aragón-Gastélum JL, Flores J, Yáñez-Espinosa L, Badano EI, Ramírez-Tobías HM, Rodas-Ortíz JP, González-Salvatierra C (2014) Induced climate change impairs photosynthetic performance in Echinocactus platyacanthus, an especially protected Mexican cactus species. Flora 209:499–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2014.06.002
Avendaño-Yáñez ML, Quiroz-Martínez S, Pérez-Elizalde S, López-Ortiz S (2020) Litterfall from tropical dry forest trees scattered in pastures. Rev Chapingo Ser Cienc for Ambient 26:409–418. https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchscfa.2019.12.092
Badano EI, de Oca EJS-M (2022) Seed fate, seedling establishment and the role of propagule size in forest regeneration under climate change conditions. For Ecol Manag 503:119776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119776
Badano EI, Samour-Nieva OR, Flores J, Flores-Flores JL, Flores-Cano JA, Rodas-Ortíz JP (2016) Facilitation by nurse plants contributes to vegetation recovery in human-disturbed desert ecosystems. J Plant Ecol 9:485–497. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtw002
Badano EI, Guerra-Coss FA, Gelviz-Gelvez SM, Flores J, Delgado-Sánchez P (2018) Functional responses of recently emerged seedlings of an endemic Mexican oak (Quercus eduardii) under climate change conditions. Bot Sci 96:582–597. https://doi.org/10.17129/botsci.1988
Badano EI, Guerra-Coss FA, de Oca EJS-M, Briones-Herrera CI, Gelviz-Gelvez SM (2019) Climate change effects on early stages of Quercus ariifolia (Fagaceae), an endemic oak from seasonally dry forests of Mexico. Acta Bot Mex 126:e1466. https://doi.org/10.21829/ABM126.2019.1466
Baskin CC, Baskin JM (2014) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination, 2nd edn. Academic Press, San Diego. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2013-0-00597-X
Baskin JM, Baskin CC, Li X (2000) Taxonomy, anatomy and evolution of physical dormancy in seeds. Plant Species Biol 15:139–152. https://doi.org/10.1046/J.1442-1984.2000.00034.X
Bradford KJ (1990) A water relations analysis of seed germination rates. Plant Physiol 94:840–849. https://doi.org/10.1104/PP.94.2.840
Brodribb TJ, Holbrook NM (2003) Stomatal closure during leaf dehydration, correlation with other leaf physiological traits. Plant Physiol 132:2166–2173. https://doi.org/10.1104/PP.103.023879
Callaway RM, Davis FW (1998) Recruitment of Quercus agrifolia in central California: the importance of shrub-dominated patches. J Veg Sci 9:647–656. https://doi.org/10.2307/3237283
Canham CD, Murphy L (2016) The demography of tree species response to climate: seedling recruitment and survival. Ecosphere 7:e01424. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1424
Castro J, Gómez JM, Zamora R, Hódar JA (2002) Use of shrubs as nurse plants: a new technique for reforestation in Mediterranean mountains. Restor Ecol 10:297–305. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-100X.2002.01022.x
Cervantes V, Carabias J, Vázquez-Yanes C (1996) Seed germination of woody legumes from deciduous tropical forest of southern Mexico. For Ecol Manag 82:171–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1127(95)03671-7
Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Rokich DP, Dixon KW (2009) Seed biology of Australian arid zone species: germination of 18 species used for rehabilitation. J Arid Environ 73:617–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.01.007
Cook BI, Mankin JS, Marvel K, Williams AP, Smerdon JE, Anchukaitis KJ (2020) Twenty-first century drought projections in the cmip6 forcing scenarios. Earth’s Future. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001461
Dantas BF, Moura MSB, Pelacani CR, Angelotti F, Taura TA, Oliveira GM, Bispo JS, Matias JR, Silva FFS, Pritchard HW, Seal CE (2019) Rainfall, not soil temperature, will limit the seed germination of dry forest species with climate change. Oecologia 192:529–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/S00442-019-04575-X
El-Din MMS (1999) On the heat flow into the ground. Renew Energy 18:473–490. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-1481(99)00005-1
Farnsworth E (2000) The ecology and physiology of viviparous and recalcitrant seeds. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 31:107–138. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.31.1.107
Finch-Savage WE, Leubner-Metzger G (2006) Seed dormancy and the control of germination. New Phytol 171:501–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1469-8137.2006.01787.X
Forster PM, Maycock AC, McKenna CM, Smith CJ (2019) Latest climate models confirm need for urgent mitigation. Nat Clim Chang 10:7–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41558-019-0660-0
García E (2004) Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen para adaptarlo a las condiciones de la República Mexicana, 5th edn. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City
Giuliani C, Lazzaro L, Calamassi R, Fico G, Foggi B, Mariotti-Lippi M (2019) Induced water stress affects seed germination response and root anatomy in Robinia pseudoacacia (Fabaceae). Trees 33:1627–1638. https://doi.org/10.1007/S00468-019-01885-8
Gómez-Ruiz PA, Lindig-Cisneros R, Vargas-Ríos O (2013) Facilitation among plants: a strategy for the ecological restoration of the high-Andean forest (Bogotá, D.C.-Colombia). Ecol Eng 57:267–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.04.049
González-Castañeda J, Angoa-Pérez MV, Frías-Hernández JT, Olalde-Portugal V, Flores-Ancira E, Terrones-Rincón TRL, Van Cleemput O, Dendooven L (2004) Germination of seeds of huisache (Acacia schaffneri) and catclaw (Mimosa monancistra) as affected by sulphuric acid and mechanical scarification and subsequent growth and survival in a greenhouse and field experiment. Seed Sci Technol 32:727–738. https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2004.32.3.08
Gribko LS, Jones WE (1995) Test of the float method of assessing northern red oak acorn condition. Tree Plant Notes 46:143–147
Grimm NB, Chapin FS, Bierwagen B, Gonzalez P, Groffman PM, Luo Y, Melton F, Nadelhoffer K, Pairis A, Raymond PA, Schimel J, Williamson CE (2013) The impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure and function. Front Ecol Environ 11:474–482. https://doi.org/10.1890/120282
Guerra-Coss FA, Badano EI, Cedillo-Rodríguez IE, Ramírez-Albores JE, Flores J, Barragán-Torres F, Flores-Cano JA (2021) Modelling and validation of the spatial distribution of suitable habitats for the recruitment of invasive plants on climate change scenarios: an approach from the regeneration niche. Sci Total Environ 777:146007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146007
Hardwick-Jones R, Westra S, Sharma A (2010) Observed relationships between extreme sub-daily precipitation, surface temperature, and relative humidity. Geophys Res Lett 37:L22805. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL045081
Kaplan EL, Meier P (1958) Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. J Am Stat Assoc 53:457–481. https://doi.org/10.2307/2281868
Kleinbaum DG, Klein M (2005) Survival analysis, 3rd edn. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6646-9
Mclaughlin BC, Zavaleta ES (2012) Predicting species responses to climate change: demography and climate microrefugia in California valley oak (Quercus lobata). Glob Chang Biol 18:2301–2312. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02630.x
Meehl GA, Senior CA, Eyring V, Flato G, Lamarque JF, Stouffer RJ, Taylor KE, Schlund M (2020) Context for interpreting equilibrium climate sensitivity and transient climate response from the CMIP6 Earth system models. Sci Adv 6:eaba191. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba1981
Musil CF, Schmiedel U, Midgley GF (2005) Lethal effects of experimental warming approximating a future climate scenario on southern African quartz-field succulents: a pilot study. New Phytol 165:539–547. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01243.x
Pammenter NW, Berjak P (2000) Evolutionary and ecological aspects of recalcitrant seed biology. Seed Sci Res 10:301–306. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258500000349
Parra-Gil PJ, Baltazar-Meneses K, Castellanos I, Romero-Nápoles J, Martínez-Morales MA, Cid-Becerra JA (2020) Preferencia y depredación de semillas de mezquite por escarabajos (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Rev Mex Biodivers 91:e912855. https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2020.91.2855
Peguero G, Espelta JM (2014) Endozoochory and fire as germination triggers in Neotropical dry forests: an experimental test. Biotropica 46:83–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/BTP.12076
Pérez-Ruiz CL, Badano EI, Rodas-Ortiz JP, Delgado-Sánchez P, Flores J, Douterlungne D, Flores-Cano JA (2018) Climate change in forest ecosystems: a field experiment addressing the effects of raising temperature and reduced rainfall on early life cycle stages of oaks. Acta Oecologica 92:35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ACTAO.2018.08.006
Piper FI, Fajardo A, Cavieres LA (2013) Simulated warming does not impair seedling survival and growth of Nothofagus pumilio in the southern Andes. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 15:97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2013.02.003
Purata SE, Greenberg R, Barrientos V, López-Portillo J (1999) Economic potential of the Huizache, Acacia pennatula (Mimosoideae) in Central Veracruz, Mexico. Econ Bot 53:15–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02860787
Rincón-Rosales R, Culebro-Espinosa NR, Gutierrez-Miceli FA, Dendooven L (2003) Scarification of seeds of Acacia angustissima (Mill.) Kuntze and its effect on germination. Seed Sci Technol 31:301–307. https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2003.31.2.07
Rzedowski J (1966) Vegetación del estado de San Luis Potosí. Acta Científica Potosina 5:5–291
Somarriba E (2012) The population dynamics and productivity of Acacia pennatula in the pasturelands of the Nature Reserve Mesas de Moropotente, Estelí, Nicaragua. Agrofor Syst 84:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9447-7
Swart NC, Cole JNS, Kharin VV, Lazare M, Scinocca JF, Gillett NP, Anstey J, Arora V, Christian JR, Hanna S, Jiao Y, Lee WG, Majaess F, Saenko OA, Seiler C, Seinen C, Shao A, Sigmond M, Solheim L, von Salzen K, Yang D, Winter B (2019) The Canadian Earth System Model version 5 (CanESM5.0.3). Geosci Model Dev 12:4823–4873. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4823-2019
Van Assche JA, Debucquoy KLA, Rommens WAF (2003) Seasonal cycles in the germination capacity of buried seeds of some Leguminosae (Fabaceae). New Phytol 58:315–323. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00744.x
Walck JL, Hidayati SN, Dixon KW, Thompson K, Poschlod P (2011) Climate change and plant regeneration from seed. Glob Chang Biol 17:2145–2161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02368.x
Will RE, Wilson SM, Zou CB, Hennessey TC (2013) Increased vapor pressure deficit due to higher temperature leads to greater transpiration and faster mortality during drought for tree seedlings common to the forest-grassland ecotone. New Phytol 200:366–374. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12321
Willson M, Traveset A (2000) The ecology of seed dispersal. In: Fenner M (ed) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 85–110
Zhang Y, Xie YZ, Bin MH, Zhang J, Jing L, Wang YT, Li JP (2021) The responses of soil respiration to changed precipitation and increased temperature in desert grassland in northern China. J Arid Environ 193:104579. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JARIDENV.2021.104579
Zhao M-R, Li F, Fang Y, Gao Q, Wang W (2011) Expansin-regulated cell elongation is involved in the drought tolerance in wheat. Protoplasma 248:313–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-010-0172-2
Acknowledgements
We thank Francisco A. Guerra-Coss and Juan P. Rodas-Ortiz for their valuable contribution in the manipulation of seeds in the laboratory and the mounting and monitoring of experiments in the field.
Funding
This study was financially supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México under grant FORDECYT 297525.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study, collected the data and analyzed them. EIB prepared the figures and wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sandoval-Martínez, J., Flores-Cano, J.A. & Badano, E.I. Recruitment of pioneer trees with physically dormant seeds under climate change: the case of Vachellia pennatula (Fabaceae) in semiarid environments of Mexico. J Plant Res 135, 453–463 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-022-01383-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-022-01383-y