Germination fitness of two temperate epiphytic ferns shifts under increasing temperatures and forest fragmentation.

ABSTRACT: Ferns are an important component of ecosystems around the world. Studies of the impacts that global changes may have on ferns are scarce, yet emerging studies indicate that some species may be particularly sensitive to climate change. The lack of research in this subject is much more aggravated in the case of epiphytes, and especially those that live under temperate climates. A mathematical model was developed for two temperate epiphytic ferns in order to predict potential impacts on spore germination kinetics, in response to different scenarios of global change, coming from increasing temperature and forest fragmentation. Our results show that an increasing temperature will have a negative impact over the populations of these temperate epiphytic ferns. Under unfragmented forests the germi

SUBMITTER: Gabriel Y Galan JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5947888 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature