Comparative Germination Ecology of Two Endemic Rhaponticum Species (Asteraceae) in Different Climatic Zones of the Ligurian and Maritime Alps (Piedmont, Italy).

ABSTRACT: Comparative studies of seed germination of closely related taxa can help increase our understanding of the ecological limitations of cold-adapted plants and forecast how they might respond to global warming. No studies exist on the relationship between thermoclimatic belts that classify mountain life zones according to bioclimatic criteria and the germination strategy of alpine plants. The aim of this study was to assess this relationship using two closely related species growing in different thermotypes and to test whether their germination responses were related to the climate at natural sites. Fresh Rhaponticum bicknellii and R. scariosum seeds were cold stratified for 0, 30, 60 and 90 days and tested for germination at 10, 15 and 20 °C. At the same time, seed burial experiments were ru

SUBMITTER: Carasso V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7356568 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature