Interspecific variation in persistence of buried weed seeds follows trade-offs among physiological, chemical, and physical seed defenses.

ABSTRACT: Soil seedbanks drive infestations of annual weeds, yet weed management focuses largely on seedling mortality. As weed seedbanks increasingly become reservoirs of herbicide resistance, species-specific seedbank management approaches will be essential to weed control. However, the development of seedbank management strategies can only develop from an understanding of how seed traits affect persistence.We quantified interspecific trade-offs among physiological, chemical, and physical traits of weed seeds and their persistence in the soil seedbank in a common garden study. Seeds of 11 annual weed species were buried in Savoy, IL, from 2007 through 2012. Seedling recruitment was measured weekly and seed viability measured annually. Seed physiological (dormancy), chemical (phenolic compound dive

SUBMITTER: Davis AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5513235 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature