Factors affecting seedling regeneration of Liquidambar formosana in the L. formosana forests in hilly regions of Southeast Hubei, China

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00187

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Liquidambar formosana is an important canopy tree species widely distributed in the plains and mountains from the north-subtropical zone to the tropical zone in China. Full understanding of the natural regeneration processes of tree seedling and limiting factors is important for plant population conservation and forest management. Our objective is to investigate the factors that limit seedling regeneration of L. formosana under canopies of Formosan sweetgum forests in hilly regions of Southeast Hubei, China.
Methods Seedling regeneration of L. formosana occurs sporadically under canopies of mixed pine forests but poorly under Formosan sweetgum canopy. In 2008, we carried out a series of experiments to study factors limiting seedling regeneration of L. formosana under mixed pine forests and Formosan sweetgum forests and tested: (1) effects of lower temperature and soil moisture on seed longevity, (2) effects of forest type, soil type and litter cover on seed survival, (3) litter allelopathy effects on seed longevity and germination, and (4) effects of light intensity under canopies on seedling survival.
Important findings Dispersed seeds of L. formosana could germinate immediately at lower temperatures (4-8 °C), although such temperatures were fatal to seedling establishment. Contrary to our prediction, soil type, litter leachate and litter cover had no effects on L. formosana seed viability and could not be used to explain poor seedling regeneration under canopies of Formosan sweetgum forest. We also did not find any litter leachate inhibition or promotion effects on seed germination, although a short germination lag effect was found with leachate of pine needles and sweetgum leaves. Shading first-year seedlings of L. formosana indicated that about 90% would die under the canopy of the Formosan sweetgum forest (with its 3% transmittance of open-sky light). In general, our experiments suggested that non-dormant seed and shade-intolerant seedlings of L. formosana were key factors limiting seedling regeneration under canopies of Formosan sweetgum forest.

Key words: Liquidambar formosana, litter allelopathy, non-dormant seed, shade intolerance

WANG Chuan-Hua, LI Jun-Qing, CHEN Fang-Qing, YANG Ying. Factors affecting seedling regeneration of Liquidambar formosana in the L. formosana forests in hilly regions of Southeast Hubei, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2011, 35(2): 187-194.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00187

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2011/V35/I2/187

Figures/Tables 6

References 27

[1]	Ahmed R, Hoque ATMR, Hossain MK (2008). Allelopathic effects of leaf litters of Eucalyptus camaldulensis on some forest and agricultural crops. Journal of Forestry Research, 19, 19-24.
[2]	Al-Humaid AI, Warrag MOA (1998). Allelopathic effects of mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) foliage on seed germination and seedling growth of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). Journal of Arid Environments, 38, 237-243.
[3]	Anders JD, Zackrisson O, Nilsson MC (1996). Effects of bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus L.) litter on seed germination and early seedling growth of four boreal tree species. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 22, 973-986. DOI URL PMID
[4]	Augspurger CK (1984). Seedling survival of tropical tree species, interactions on dispersal distance, light gaps, and pathogens. Ecology, 65, 1705-1712.
[5]	Bonner FT (1972). Maturation of sweet gum and American sycamore seeds. Forest Science, 18, 223-231.
[6]	Bonner FT (1987). Collection and care of sweet gum seed. New Forest, 207-214.
[7]	Burtern PJ, Bazzaz FA (1991). Tree seedling emergence on interactive temperature and moisture gradients and in patches of old-field vegetation. American Journal of Botany, 78, 131-149.
[8]	Castells E, Uelas JP, Valentine DW (2005). Effects of plant leachates from four boreal understorey species on soil mineralization, and white spruce ( Picea glauca) germination and seedling growth. Annals of Botany, 95, 1247-1252. DOI URL PMID
[9]	Cavieres LA, Chacon P, Penaloza A, Molina-Montenegro M, Arroyo MTK (2007). Leaf litter of Kageneckia angustifolia D. Don (Rosaceae) inhibits seed germination in sclerophyllous montane woodlands of central Chile. Plant Ecology, 190, 13-22.
[10]	China Forest Compiler Committee (中国森林编辑委员会) (1999). China Forest III (中国森林第3卷). China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing. 1431-1434. (in Chinese)
[11]	Dupuy JM, Chazdon RL (2008). Interacting effects of canopy gap, understory vegetation and leaf litter on tree seedling recruitment and composition in tropical secondary forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 255, 3716-3725.
[12]	Ellis RH, Roberts EH (1980). Improved equations for the prediction of seed longevity. Annals of Botany, 45, 13-30.
[13]	Fenner M (2000). Seeds: the Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities 2nd edn. CABI Publishing, Oxfordshire.
[14]	Gao HD (高捍东), Chen FM (陈凤毛), Shi JS (施季森) (2000). A study on maturation of Liquidambar formosana seeds. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University (南京林业大学学报), 24, 26-28. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[15]	Hadar Y, Harman GE, Taylor AG (1984). Evaluation of Trichoderma koningii and T. harzianum from New York soils for biological control of seed rot caused by Pythium spp. Phytopathology, 74, 106-110.
[16]	Han LF (韩麟凤), Xu SH (许绍惠), Tang WP (唐婉屏), Han ZH (韩忠环) (1983). Primary test report on Juglans mandshurica Maxim. allelopathy. Liaoning Forestry Science and Technology (辽宁林业科技), (4), 44-49. (in Chinese)
[17]	Li QK, Ma KP (2003). Factors affecting establishment of Quercus liaotungensis Koidz under mature mixed oak forest over story and in shrub land. Forest Ecology and Management, 176, 133-146.
[18]	Liu J (刘就), Liu HP (刘和平), Chen KK (陈考科), Deng ST (邓石亭) (2007). The research progress on the seed characters of Liquidambar formosana. Journal of Fujian Forestry Science and Technology (福建林业科技), 34, 190-192. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[19]	Lusk CH, Warton DI (2007). Global meta-analysis shows that relationships of leaf mass per area with species shade tolerance depend on leaf habit and ontogeny. New Phytologist, 176, 764-774.
[20]	Lusk CH (2004). Leaf area and growth of juvenile temperate evergreens in low light, species of contrasting shade tolerance change rank during ontogeny. Functional Ecology, 18, 820-828.
[21]	Rey A, Petsikos C, Jarvis PG, Grace J (2005). Effect of temperature and moisture on rates of carbon mineralization in a Mediterranean oak forest soil under controlled and field conditions. European Journal of Soil Science, 56, 589-599.
[22]	Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (2000). Design and Analysis of Ecological Experiment 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York. 47.
[23]	Walters MB, Reich PB (2000). Seed size, nitrogen supply, and growth rate affect tree seedling survival in deep shade. Ecology, 81, 1887-1901.
[24]	Wang CH (王传华), Wei B (魏斌), Li JQ (李俊清) (2009a). Community structure and seedlings regeneration of Chinese sweetgum (Liquidambar formosana) forest and pine (Pinus massoniana)-sweetgum mixed forest in the southeast hilly region, Hubei Province. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 29, 4681-4692. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[25]	Wang CH (王传华), Yang Y (杨莹), Li JQ (李俊清) (2009b). Natural regeneration of Chinese sweet-gum (Liquidambar formosana) population in southeast hilly region of Hubei Province. Chinese Bulletin of Botany (植物学报), 44, 710-717. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[26]	Wang GG, Kemball KJ (2005). Balsam fir and white spruce seedling recruitment in response to under story release, seedbed type, and litter exclusion in trembling aspen stands. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 35, 667-673.
[27]	Xishui County Annals Edit Committee (浠水县志编辑委员会) (1996). Xishui County Annals (浠水县志). China Culture History Press, Beijing. 1-8. (in Chinese)

		未萌发种子的活性 Viability of seeds remaining un-germinated (%)
		2009-02-01	2009-03-01	2009-04-01	2009-05-01	2009-06-01
温度 T (℃)	4	82.6^a	79.0^a	46.7^a	23.2^a	6.6^b
	8	86.4^a	65.0^b	0.1^b	5.7^b	0.1^a
	12	70.1^b	44.4^c	1.4^c	0.2^c	1.2^a
土壤湿度 H (%)	15	83.8^ns	65.4^ab	22.5^b	12.9^c	3.1^ab
	25	80.5^ns	66.5^b	24.9^b	16.9^c	5.2^b
	45	76.3^ns	58.6^a	12.8^a	2.7^a	0.6^a
	80	78.1^ns	60.9^a	21.6^b	6.4^b	1.7^ab
T × H相互作用 T × H interaction		s	s	s	s	s
T × H处理 T × H treatment	4 × 15	86.3^c	67.3^c	30.5^d	20.9^d	9.2^c
	4 × 25	84.9^ef	82.9^ef	67.1^e	49.1^e	13.2^c
	4 × 45	73.2^de	78.1c^de	28.2^d	7.2^c	0.7^ab
	4 × 80	86.0^f	87.8^f	60.9^e	15.7^d	3.4^b
	8 × 15	88.9^cd	70.3^cd	0^a	0^a	0^a
	8 × 25	85.5^c	66.4^c	0^a	0^a	0^a
	8 × 45	86.6^bc	61.7^bc	0^a	0^a	0.3^a
	8 × 80	84.5^bc	61.8^bc	0.3^a	0.8^ab	0.3^a
	12 × 15	76.4^bc	58.6^bc	37.0^d	17.7^d	0^a
	12 × 25	71.1^b	50.1^a	7.5^bc	1.6^ab	2.6^ab
	12 × 45	69.2^a	35.9^a	10.2^c	0.8^ab	0.9^a
	12 × 80	63.8^a	32.9^a	3.4^b	2.7^bc	1.5^ab

		未萌发种子的活性 Viability of seeds remaining un-germinated (%)
		2009-02-01	2009-03-01	2009-04-01	2009-05-01	2009-06-01
温度 T (℃)	4	82.6^a	79.0^a	46.7^a	23.2^a	6.6^b
	8	86.4^a	65.0^b	0.1^b	5.7^b	0.1^a
	12	70.1^b	44.4^c	1.4^c	0.2^c	1.2^a
土壤湿度 H (%)	15	83.8^ns	65.4^ab	22.5^b	12.9^c	3.1^ab
	25	80.5^ns	66.5^b	24.9^b	16.9^c	5.2^b
	45	76.3^ns	58.6^a	12.8^a	2.7^a	0.6^a
	80	78.1^ns	60.9^a	21.6^b	6.4^b	1.7^ab
T × H相互作用 T × H interaction		s	s	s	s	s
T × H处理 T × H treatment	4 × 15	86.3^c	67.3^c	30.5^d	20.9^d	9.2^c
	4 × 25	84.9^ef	82.9^ef	67.1^e	49.1^e	13.2^c
	4 × 45	73.2^de	78.1c^de	28.2^d	7.2^c	0.7^ab
	4 × 80	86.0^f	87.8^f	60.9^e	15.7^d	3.4^b
	8 × 15	88.9^cd	70.3^cd	0^a	0^a	0^a
	8 × 25	85.5^c	66.4^c	0^a	0^a	0^a
	8 × 45	86.6^bc	61.7^bc	0^a	0^a	0.3^a
	8 × 80	84.5^bc	61.8^bc	0.3^a	0.8^ab	0.3^a
	12 × 15	76.4^bc	58.6^bc	37.0^d	17.7^d	0^a
	12 × 25	71.1^b	50.1^a	7.5^bc	1.6^ab	2.6^ab
	12 × 45	69.2^a	35.9^a	10.2^c	0.8^ab	0.9^a
	12 × 80	63.8^a	32.9^a	3.4^b	2.7^bc	1.5^ab

变异来源 Variation source		自由度 df	平方和 SS	均方 MS	F值 F value
主处理 Main treatment	区组 Block	9	4 283.65	475.96	4.36*
	林型 Forest type	1	37.89	37.89	0.35
	误差(林型) E_forest	9	981.71	109.08
亚处理 Sub treatment	处理 Treatment	4	125 643.99	31 411.00	207.55**
	处理×林型 Treatment × forest type	4	4 231.35	1 057.84	6.99**
	误差 E	71	10 745.37	151.34

变异来源 Variation source		自由度 df	平方和 SS	均方 MS	F值 F value
主处理 Main treatment	区组 Block	9	4 283.65	475.96	4.36*
	林型 Forest type	1	37.89	37.89	0.35
	误差(林型) E_forest	9	981.71	109.08
亚处理 Sub treatment	处理 Treatment	4	125 643.99	31 411.00	207.55**
	处理×林型 Treatment × forest type	4	4 231.35	1 057.84	6.99**
	误差 E	71	10 745.37	151.34

处理 Treatment	逐日萌发率 Germination per day (%)				合计 Total
处理 Treatment	3rd day	4th day	5th day	6th day	合计 Total
DW	12.4^c	28.8^bc	27.2^b	11.0^a	89.4^ns
LQ	16.2^c	31.2^c	23.2^ab	10.2^a	89.2^ns
LS	1.2^a	12.6^a	21.4^a	21.8^b	87.6^ns
NP	2.4^ab	12.2^a	29.0^b	22.0^b	84.0^ns
CS	3.2^b	25.4^b	25.2^ab	18.0^b	90.8^ns