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Differential seed germination responses to the ratio of red to far-red light in temperate and tropical species

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Abstract

Variation in vegetation density creates a range of red to far-red ratios of irradiance (R:FR) potentially permitting fine-scale discrimination of light conditions for seed germination. However, remarkably few studies have explored whether R:FR responses of germination vary among species that differ in distribution and life-history traits. In this study, we explored the relationships between R:FR requirements and four species characteristics: seed mass, latitudinal distribution (tropical vs. temperate), seed dormancy (dormant vs. nondormant), and plant growth form (woody vs. nonwoody). We obtained data on germination response to R:FR of 62 species from published literature and added new data for ten species from aseasonal tropical forests in Borneo. First, we analyzed whether species characteristics influenced overall light dependency of germination using phylogenetic logistic regression. We found that seed mass had a strong negative effect on light dependency, but that the seed mass at which tropical taxa had a 50 % probability of light dependency was 40 times that of temperate taxa. For light-dependent species, we found that the threshold R:FR that stimulates 50 % of maximum germination (R:FR50) was also related to seed mass and latitudinal distribution. In agreement with an earlier study, we found that for temperate taxa, the R:FR50 was significantly negatively correlated with seed mass. In contrast, for 22 tropical taxa, we found a significant positive correlation. These opposing relationships suggest contrasting selection pressures on germination responses of tropical taxa (mostly trees) and temperate herbaceous plants, and which are likely related to differences in seed longevity, seed burial rates, and reproductive output.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Yuji Tokumoto for help in providing Dillenia suffruticosa seeds. The authors express their gratitude to Carol Augspurger, Adam Davis, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the study. This study is partly funded by the 2010 grant program of the Center for Tropical Forest Science and Royal Thai Government Scholarship.

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  1. Plant Biology Department, University of Illinois, 265 Morrill Hall 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Pimonrat Tiansawat & James W. Dalling

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Republic of Panama

    James W. Dalling

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  1. Pimonrat Tiansawat
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Correspondence to Pimonrat Tiansawat.

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Tiansawat, P., Dalling, J.W. Differential seed germination responses to the ratio of red to far-red light in temperate and tropical species. Plant Ecol 214, 751–764 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0205-y

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