title: Seed dispersal and germination traits of 70 plant species inhabiting the Gurbantunggut Desert in northwest China.
abstract: Seed dispersal and germination were examined for 70 species from the cold Gurbantunggut Desert in northwest China. Mean and range (3 orders of magnitude) of seed mass were smaller and narrower than those in other floras (5-8 orders of magnitude), which implies that selection favors relatively smaller seeds in this desert. We identified five dispersal syndromes (anemochory, zoochory, autochory, barochory, and ombrohydrochory), and anemochorous species were most abundant. Seed mass (F = 3.50, P = 0.01), seed size (F = 8.31, P < 0.01), and seed shape (F = 2.62, P = 0.04) differed significantly among the five dispersal syndromes and barochorous species were significantly smaller and rounder than the others. There were no significant correlations between seed mass (seed weight) (P = 0.15), seed size (P = 0.38), or seed shape (variance) (P = 0.95) and germination percentage. However, germination percentages differed significantly among the dispersal syndromes (F = 3.64, P = 0.01) and seeds of ombrohydrochorous species had higher germination percentages than those of the other species. In the Gurbantunggut Desert, the percentage of species with seed dormancy was about 80%. In general, our studies suggest that adaptive strategies in seed dispersal and germination of plants in this area are closely related to the environment in which they live and that they are influenced by natural selection forces.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China ; Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan 838008, China.
authors.forename: Huiliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China ; Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan 838008, China.
authors.forename: Daoyuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Zhenying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China ; Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan 838008, China.
authors.forename: Shimin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China ; Turpan Eremophytes Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Turpan 838008, China.
authors.forename: Xiyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003889:Desert Climate; D018525:Germination / Q000502:physiology*; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D058614:Seed Dispersal; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology*