Research Paper Summary !

Jackie Buchanan Bio 1615-026 Judy Bunkall November 1, 2013

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Effect of Day Length on Germination of Seeds Collected in Alaska by Roseann V. Densmore Abstract Day length control can effectively limit seed germination to favorable seasons, but this phenomenon has been studied in relatively few plants (1997). The author tested 18 species from the interior of Alaska for day length control of germination under controlled conditions, as well as monitoring their germination in their natural habitats.

Introduction ! The purpose of this report was to study the effect of day length on the germination of seeds in Alaska. The author realized that day length control has the ability to limit seed germination to favorable seasons, but that this had not been well tested in wild plants. For this project, she used seeds that were collected in the interior of Alaskan wilderness. Densmores main objective was to ...screen a number of northern species for day lengths that could control germination in their natural habitats (1997). The four plants she chose to use for this report to demonstrate day length control of germination were: Diapensia lapponica, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Ledum decumbens, and Saxifraga tricuspidata.

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Materials and Methods

Species Studied:

Diapensia lapponica Commonly called pincushion plant Circumpolar evergreen creeping, cushion-like shrub 2-7 cm tall Grows in well-drained arctic and alpine tundra Tiny seeds (0.04 mg) wind disperse in late August Seeds germinate after overwintering 83 days

Chamaedaphne calyculata Commonly called leather leaf Circumboreal evergreen shrub 0.5-1 m tall Grows in boggy areas Small seeds (0.12 mg) wind and water disperse in late September No germination information available

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Saxifraga tricuspidata Commonly called three-toothed saxifrage Evergreen perennial herb with basil rosette leaves 25 cm diameter and 2-3 cm tall Grows on open, well drained slopes in northern boreal forests and tundras Tiny seeds (0.05 mg) wind disperse late August/early September No germination information available

Ledum decumbens

Commonly called northern labrador tea Evergreen shrub 0.3 - 0.6 m tall Grows in arctic and alpine tundra as well as wet areas of the taiga Tiny seeds (0.03 mg) wind disperse early September Seeds germinate in light and temp about 22 Celsius

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! Germination in controlled environments - the seeds were collected in Alaska during their time of dispersal, dried for 1 to 2 days, and frozen until used.

Each species of seeds were given the summarized treatment as follows:

The seeds were placed in 4 tissue paper-lined petri dishes that held 50 seeds each and spritzed with distilled water. Two dishes were kept in dark, light-proof bags and were not exposed to light until the end of the experiment. They were kept in a cold-stratied environment, with temperatures between 2 to 5 Celsius. Then, the germinated seeds were counted, and the ungerminated seeds were dissected to nd out if they were lled. The percentage of germination was based on the amount of lled seeds. The remaining two dishes of seeds underwent light germination tests in controlled environment chambers. Fluorescent light tubes were the source of light for used for the tests. The light was used to simulate long-day and short-day lengths. A sample of dishes were monitored to measure greenhouse effect, and they did not show any difference between the long-day and the short-day treatments. The seeds were cold-stratied between 2-5 Celsius and during this time they were not exposed to day lengths longer than 13 hours. They were then tested to measure germination in a variety of temperatures. They tested seeds at 5, 10, 15, and 20 degrees Celsius.

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Germination in natural habitats - The seeds were sown in seedbeds created in their naturally occurring habitats, and monitored for growth. The seedbeds were observed to determine what time of year the seedlings appeared, and how long it took them to appear. Germination percentage was not calculated because they could not determine how many seeds had been lost to wind or predators. Soil temperatures were measured and recorded. Day length and air temperature was also recorded at each measurement.

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Results Diapensia lapponica - unstratied seeds did not germinate on short-day length at any temperature. On long-day length they only germinated to 4% at 15 C and 15% at 20 C. Cold stratied seeds germinated on both long and short days, but they had a higher rate of germination on long days. None of the unstratied or cold stratied seeds germinated in the dark.

Chamaedaphne calyculata - unstratied seeds did not germinate on the short -day length. On long-day length they germinated to 10% at 15 C and 21% at 20 C. Cold stratied seeds germinated on long-day length at 15 C and 20 C. None of the seeds germinated in the dark at any temperature.

Saxifraga tricuspidata- very few unstratied seeds germinated on short-day length. On long-day length they germinated to 38% at 5 C and 90-100% at 10 C, 15 C, and 20 C. Cold stratication increased the temperature range for germination on short-day length. A few unstratied and cold stratied seeds germinated in the dark.

Ledum decumbens - unstratied seeds germinated on short-day length at all three temperatures, but they germinated better on long-day lengths. Germination increased as the temperature rose. Cold stratication increased germination at all temperatures. At 15 C and 20 C, almost all of the seeds germinated. No stratied seeds were tested on short-day length. No seeds germinated in the dark.

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Discussion

The results of this study show us that the short-day length caused a reduction or elimination of seed germination on all varieties tested. With cold stratication, germination of all species tested increased. Cold stratied seeds of all species tested germinated to some extent during the short-day lengths, but germination dramatically increased during long-day lengths. With unstratied seeds, only two of the species discussed in this report (the saxifrage and labrador tea) experienced some level of germination on short-day lengths, but all unstratied varieties experienced a greater rate of germination on long-day lengths. Of all the species reported on, only the saxifraga had any seeds that germinated in the dark. This paper shows us that day-length control of seed germination is an effective dormancy mechanism....species that are likely to exhibit day-length inuence on germination include those with seed and habitat characteristics similar to those of the four species studied here (1997).

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Works Cited

Densmore, R. V. (1997). Effect Of Day Length On Germination Of Seeds Collected In Alaska. American Journal of Botany, 84(2), 274. Chamaedaphne calyculata. (n.d.). USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http://plants.usda.gov/core/prole?symbol=CHCA2 Diapensia lapponica. (n.d.). Diapensia lapponica. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http://www.arcticatlas.org/photos/pltspecies/spp_details.php?queryID=dila "Native Plant Database." Saxifraga tricuspidata (Three toothed saxifrage). N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://www.wildower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SATR5>. Ledum palustre subsp. decumbens. (n.d.). Ledum palustre subsp. decumbens. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from http://www.arcticatlas.org/photos/pltspecies/spp_details.php?queryID=LEPAD