Testing the Effects of a Regionalized Seed Production on the Germination Behavior of Wild Plant Species

Abstract

Cultivated varieties of native plants are increasingly used for restoration. Life-history traits which are acquired by natural selection in wild plants, like germination, are likely changed when plants are cultivated. Altered life-history traits in introduced cultivated varieties may result in the reduction of long-term viability or enhance their invasion potential. Standard seed production (SSP) frequently uses native seeds from distant provenances and these seeds are cultivated for numerous generations. A regionalized seed production (RSP) aims to preserve wild life-history traits. In this study we compared the germination rates of (a) declared wild seeds (F0) and their subsequent propagated generation (F1) from RSP, (b) seeds derived from SSP methods, and (c) seeds collected from the wild in order to test whether RSP methods preserve natural germination rates. We tested the germination behavior of Plantago lanceolata and Lotus corniculatus, two species frequently used in re-vegetation. F0-seeds of both species from RSP did not differ in germination behavior from wild seeds. Cultivated varieties from SSP germinated significantly faster and had a higher total germination for both species. While F1-seeds of P. lanceolata did not differ from their F0-seeds, F1-seeds of L. corniculatus germinated significantly faster and were more abundant than their F0-seeds. Whereas RSP methods seemed to preserve natural germination behavior in P. lanceolata, we observed unintended selection against seed dormancy and slow germinating seeds during propagation of L. corniculatus. Applying appropriate methods in all parts of harvesting and propagation activities (e.g. scarification) is important to preserve life-history traits of wild populations for restoration activities.