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Seed dormancy: a glossary

February 1st, 2023 No comments

We have recently reviewed concepts related to seed dormancy and the mechanism of dormancy release (see references 1, 2, 3 below). Here we summarize the main definitions considered.

Seed dormancy: delayed germination even when conditions are favorable. It is a state of metabolic inactivity in the seed that prevents the embryo from growing and thus the seed from germinating. There are two major classes of seed dormancy, inherent dormancy and imposed dormancy.

  • Inherent (or innate) dormancy: dormancy is an internal response through retarded embryo maturity or metabolic inactivity. This is often called just ‘dormancy’; it has also been called primary dormancy, but this name is not appropriate (see Secondary dormancy below). There are three basic types of inherent dormancy, depending on the mechanism of release: morphological, physical and physiological dormancy. Some seeds may have multiple mechanisms where they combine physiological and either morphological or physical dormancy.
    • Physical dormancy (PY): a type of inherent dormancy where the seed coat is impermeable to water and/or oxygen such that metabolism cannot occur and the seed cannot germinate even if hydrothermal conditions are suitable. Physical dormancy is typically released by heat, or by physical or chemical scarification: 
        • Heat-released dormancy: seeds require a heat pulse for breaking physical dormancy that exceeds soil temperatures experienced during summer and is comparable with fire heat.
        • Scarification-released dormancy: seeds require a physical or chemical scarification (different from heat) for breaking physical dormancy (e.g., scratching the surface of the seed coat). Scarification may be a convenient tool for breaking dormancy in horticulture, but its ecological role in the soil is not well known; it may be related to seed coat decays over time through temperature fluctuations or microbial processes. Scarification-released dormancy also occurs in species that do not form a seed bank: seeds of fleshy-fruited species are typically dormant, and scarification (chemical or mechanical) through the guts of frugivorous vertebrates releases their dormancy; in that case, dormancy is a strategy for long distance dispersal [2].
    • Physiological dormancy (PD): a type of inherent dormancy in which metabolic requirements have yet to be met and germination cannot proceed even if hydrothermal conditions are suitable. Some examples of physiological dormancy are:
        • Smoke-released dormancy: a type of physiological dormancy that is maintained until chemical byproducts in smoke or ash from the combustion of plant matter (collectively termed ‘smoke’) breaks dormancy by catalysing production of enzymes required for initiating metabolic activity and germination.
        • Inhibitor-released dormancy: a type of physiological dormancy where chemical inhibitors must be removed to allow germination. It has been observed in some seeds that germinate only when removed from the fruit, or in mistletoes, when the mucilage is removed (by frugivorous birds). [3].
        • Cold-released dormancy: a type of physiological dormancy that is maintained until the seed is exposed to periods of cold (e.g., ~5°C for two months) that promotes production of cofactors required for initiating metabolic activity [3].
        • Light/dark-released dormancy: a type of physiological dormancy that is maintained until the seed is exposed to periods light-dark that promotes production of specific cofactors required for initiating metabolic activity (photoperiod-controlled dormancy or photodormancy).
    • Morphological dormancy (MD): Dormancy is maintained in an underdeveloped embryo which requires a period of post-dispersal maturation (after-ripening) before the seed is ready to germinate. Morphological dormancy due to immature embryos is neither environmentally controlled nor metabolically inactive and might be better considered as post-release embryo maturation and only apparently dormant (pseudodormancy) [3].
  • Imposed dormancy: environmentally-imposed dormancy is the state where metabolic activity continues to be suppressed as external conditions remain unsuitable for germination. Some times it is called secondary dormancy but this term is inappropriate because it may be the only form of dormancy among many seeds, so it cannot be considered secondary in a temporal sense nor minor in a functional sense [3]. In species with heat-released dormancy, this state is maintained between the fire event and the first substantial postfire rains but may be minimal among smoke-responsive seeds if the chemicals are only absorbed once the seeds have imbibed. [1,3]

Dormancy syndrome: A correlated suite of traits that is coordinated to maintain seed dormancy during storage, execute seed dormancy release in response to a specified stimulus, and respond quickly to favorable germination conditions when they become available [1]. In fire-prone ecosystems, we defined four dormancy syndromes: Heat-released dormancy, Smoke-released dormancy, Non-fire-released dormancy, Non-dormancy [1]. Fire-released dormancy is a concise term for heat-released and smoke-released dormancy syndromes [1]

Heat-stimulated germination: Heat per se does not stimulate germination but breaks dormancy that allows germination to proceed later, i.e. once suitable hydrothermal conditions are met. Thus, this term refers to the heat-released dormancy syndrome [1].

Secondary dormancy: under some conditions seeds may return to a dormant state following the introduction of earlier or new inhibitory conditions that re-impose seed dormancy. Dormancy cycling may occur when seeds that have previously broken inherent or imposed dormancy return several times to that state (secondary inherent or imposed dormancy) following conditions that annul the current dormancy-release state.

Smoke-stimulated germination: In physiologically dormant seeds, specific smoke chemicals break dormancy and allow germination to proceed. These chemicals may be absorbed by dry seeds but, once the wet season begins, they are more likely to be absorbed dissolved in the soil solution during imbibition so that germination proceeds without further delay. Thus, this term is equivalent to the smoke-released dormancy syndrome [1]. Smoke chemicals may also hasten the rate of germination of non-dormant seeds among some species.

Dormancy-released pathways:  There are at least three ways by which seeds release dormancy [3]:

  • Pathway 1 (inherent/imposed dormancy release pathway): First inherent dormancy is broken, but for germination to proceed, imposed dormancy must also be broken at some later stage, that is, when suitable hydrothermal conditions prevail. E.g., the heat of a fire may break (inherent) physical dormancy, but seeds will not germinate until the first significant rainfall events (breaking environmental imposed dormancy).
  • Pathway 2 (imposed dormancy release pathway): seeds that lack inherent dormancy (non-dormant) may still encounter an environment that does not meet their germination requirements, so that they remain under imposed dormancy until the appropriate hydrothermal conditions are met.
  • Pathway 3 (imposed/inherent dormancy release pathway): first imposed dormancy is broken before inherent (physiological) dormancy release is possible. Some seeds must already be imbibed before the inherent physiological dormancy is released, e.g, before the seed is receptive to light/dark or to cold that breaks inherent dormancy (light/dark-dormancy release or cold-dormancy release).

Bet-hedging vs best-bet strategies: In unpredictable arid ecosystems, seed dormancy is a bet-hedging strategy, as it favours spreading the risk of recruitment failure over many years. In seasonal environments where fires are predictable, seed dormancy is a best-bet strategy as seed dormancy maximizes germination in a single year when conditions are optimal, following the first substantial rains after fire [2] (this best-bet strategy is also termed environmental matching [1]). Serotiny (seeds stored in the canopy seed bank with delayed seed release and dispersal [link]) is usually not considered within the concept of dormancy, but it certainly fits the best-bet strategy [2].

References

[1] Pausas JG. & Lamont BB. 2022. Fire-released seed dormancy – a global synthesis. Biol. Rev. 97: 1612-1639. [doi | pdf | supp. mat. | data (figshare)] (highlighted in plant.org)

[2] Pausas JG, Lamont BB, Keeley JE., Bond, WJ. 2022. Bet-hedging and best-bet strategies shape seed dormancy. New Phytol. 236: 1232-1236. [doi | wiley | pdf]

[3] Lamont BB & Pausas JG 2023. Seed dormancy revisited: dormancy-release pathways and environmental interactions. Funct. Ecol. [doi | pdf | data: dryad | plain language summary]

 

Fire-released seed dormancy

April 8th, 2022 No comments

Many plants concentrate their seedling recruitment after the passage of a fire. This is because postfire conditions are especially optimal for germination and establishment of many species as fires create extensive vegetation gaps that have high resource availability, minimal competition, and low pathogen load. Thus we propose that fireprone ecosystems create ideal conditions for the selection of seed dormancy as fire provides a mechanism for dormancy release and optimal conditions for germination [1]. We compiled data from a wide range of fire-related germination experiments for species in different ecosystems across the globe and identified four dormancy syndromes: heat-released (physical) dormancy, smoke-released (physiological) dormancy, non-fire-released dormancy, and non-dormancy. In fireprone ecosystems, fire, in the form of heat and/or chemical by-products (collectively termed ‘smoke’), are the predominant stimuli for dormancy release and subsequent germination, with climate (cold or warm stratification) and light sometimes playing important secondary roles. Fire (heat or smoke)-released dormancy is best expressed where woody vegetation is dense and fires are intense, i.e. in crown-fire ecosystems (e.g., mediterranean-type ecosystems). In grassy fireprone ecosystems (e.g. savannas), where fires are less intense but more frequent, seed dormancy is less common and dormancy release is often not directly related to fire (non-fire-released dormancy). Fire-released dormancy is rare to absent in arid ecosystems and rainforests. Heat-released dormancy can be traced back to fireprone floras in the ‘fiery’ mid-Cretaceous, followed by smoke-released dormancy, with loss of fire-related dormancy among recent events associated with the advent of open savannas and non-fireprone habitats. Anthropogenic influences are now modifying dormancy-release mechanisms, usually decreasing the role of fire. We conclude that contrasting fire regimes are a key driver of the evolution and maintenance of diverse seed dormancy types in many of the world’s natural ecosystems.

Fig. 1. Percentage germination of 68 populations or species subjected to simulated fire- (y axis) and summer-type (warm stratification) temperature (x-axis) (C., Cistus; F., Fumana; U., Ulex; A., Acacia; M., Mimosa). Points above the dotted line (1:1) have higher germination levels after fire heat than after summer heat. Note that all points at or below the line are for species in savannas [S], while the others are from mediterranean shrublands and other crown-fire ecosystems. That is, in crown-fire ecosystems, fire is the most likely selective agent for dormancy. From [1].
Fig. 2. Dated phylogeny for major clades in the New and Old World Cistaceae together with closely related ancestral clades. Pie charts at the tips show the fraction of species that occur in crown-fire ecosystems (red), surface-fire ecosystems (orange), those with physical dormancy – hard seeds (green), and those with heat-released dormancy (blue). Blank sectors mean that the trait is absent. Letters at the tips refer to growth forms in the clade (T, tree; S, shrub or subshrub; H, herb/annual). Black dots indicate the crown age of diversification of the corresponding clade. From [1].

References

[1] Pausas J.G. & Lamont B.B. 2022. Fire-released seed dormancy – a global synthesis. Biological Reviews  [doi | pdf | supp. mat. | data (figshare)]

A new pyroendemic annual plant

January 21st, 2017 No comments

Recently, the annual plant Chaenorhinum rubrifolium (Plantaginaceae) has been recorded for the first time in Turkey, and it was found in a recently burned area only (8 months after a fire); no individuals were found outside the burn perimeter [1, 2]. To understand the mechanisms of germination, the authors performed a range of germination tests in which seeds were submitted to different fire-related treatments like heat shocks, smoke treatments, and the application of some chemical compounds present in the smoke (NO3, karrikinolide) or analogue to those in the smoke (mandelonitrile, a cyanohydrin type compound). The results are pretty clear (Figure below): the chemical compound of smoke break their seed dormancy and stimulates the germination [1].

Overall C. rubrifolium is a clear example of a postfire seeder species, but given their strong dependency of fire, at least in Turkey, we can call it a pyroendemic plant, that is, a plant in which seedling germination and successful recruitment is restricted to immediate postfire environments [3]. Pyroendemic annuals are common in mediterranean-climate regions [4], but they have been little studied in the Mediterranean basin [5,6].

It would be interesting to study the germination of this species from other localities (e.g., it is not rare in Spain); previous research comparing plant regeneration traits from shared species between the East and the West of the Mediterranean basin show that intraspecific variability is higher at the local scale than between distant regions [7]. At least in the West, there are some varieties of C. rubrifolium that are unlikely to be pyroendemics as the ones occurring in dune systems.
çagatay-pyroendemic-smoke
Figure: Summary of the germination response of Chaenorhinum rubrifolium to fire-related treatments: Control (untreated seeds), Heat (a range of heat shocks were tested), Smoke (mean value from a range of smoke concentrations), and different chemical compounds related to smoke: NO3 (nitrate), MAN (mandelonitrile), and KAR1 (karrikinolide). Seeds were 4 month-old; the germination for Smoke and KAR1 treatments were nearly 100% when using 2 year-old seeds (after-ripening). For details see [1].

References

[1] Tavşanoğlu Ç, Ergan G, Çatav ŞS, Zare G, Küçükakyüz K, Özüdoğru B. 2017. Multiple fire-related cues stimulate germination in Chaenorhinum rubrifolium (Plantaginaceae), a rare annual in the Mediterranean Basin. Seed Sci. Res. [doi]

[2] Zare G., Özüdoğru B., Ergan G., Tavşanoğlu Ç. (submitted) Taxonomic notes on the genus Chaenorhinum (Plantaginaceae) in Turkey.

[3] Keeley JE, Pausas JG. 2017. Evolution of ‘smoke’ induced seed germination in pyroendemic plants. South African J. Bot. [doi | pdf]

[4] Keeley JE, Bond WJ, Bradstock RA, Pausas JG, Rundel PW. 2012. Fire in Mediterranean ecosystems: ecology, evolution and management. Cambridge University Press. [the book]

[5] Moreira B, Pausas JG. 2017. Shedding light through the smoke on the germination of Mediterranean Basin flora. South African J. Bot. [doi | pdf] | post]

[6] Tormo J, Moreira B, Pausas JG. 2014. Field evidence of smoke-stimulated seedling emergence and establishment in Mediterranean Basin flora. J. Veget. Sci. 25: 771-777. [doi | wiley | pdf | post]

[7] Moreira B, Tavşanoglu Ç, Pausas JG. 2012. Local versus regional intraspecific variability in regeneration traits. Oecologia 168: 671-677. [doi | pdf | post]

 

Smoke-stimulated germination (2): Shedding light through the smoke

November 1st, 2016 No comments

There are plants in which fire can breaks seed dormancy and stimulate germination. In some species, it is the heat of the fire that breaks seed dormancy and triggers germination (heat-stimulated germination, [1, 2]). In others, germination is stimulated by chemicals produced during the combustion of the organic matter (e.g., chemicals found in the smoke and charred wood) [1, 3]; we call this process, smoke-stimulated germination [5]. That is, in fire-prone ecosystems many plants have evolved seeds with sensitivity to heat and/or to chemicals produced by fire [1, 2, 3].

There are many species from a wide phylogenetic range with smoke-stimulated germination [5]; they appear in different regions worldwide and are stimulated by different combustion-related products, both organic and inorganic [4, 5]. All this suggest that smoke-stimulated germination is a trait that has appeared multiple times during the evolution, and thus is another example of convergent evolution [5].

In the Mediterranean Basin we currently know about 67 species (from 19 families) showing a significant increase in germination in response to smoke [6]. Families with many smoke-stimulated species in this region are Lamiaceae, Ericaceae and Asteraceae. However, there is still a lot of research to be done on smoke-stimulated germination in Mediterranean Basin flora, as many species have not yet been tested; in fact, very few annuals has been tested [6] despite there is evidence from field studies (3) and from other Mediterranean regions suggesting that smoke-stimulated germination is important in annuals.

But remember, plants are not the only organisms that have evolved in response to chemicals present in the smoke, humans too! [7].

smoke-germinationFigure: Germination (proportion of seeds) in control conditions (light yellow) and after a smoke treatment (blue) for four Mediterranean species in which germination is strongly dependent on smoke: Coris monspeliensis (Primulaceae), Erica umbellata (Ericaceae), Onopordum caricum (Asteraceae) and Stachys cretica (Lamiaceae) See [6].

 

References
[1] Moreira B., Tormo J., Estrelles E., Pausas J.G. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Ann. Bot. 105: 627-635. [pdf | doi | blog]

[2] Moreira B and Pausas JG. 2012. Tanned or Burned: the role of fire in shaping physical seed dormancy. PLoS ONE 7:e51523. [doi | plos | pdf]

[3] Tormo, J., B. Moreira, and J. G. Pausas. 2014. Field evidence of smoke-stimulated seedling emergence and establishment in Mediterranean Basin flora. J. Veget. Sci. 25: 771-777. [doi | wiley | pdf | blog ]

[4] Smoke-stimulated germination, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2011/12/02/

[5] Keeley J.E. & Pausas J.G. 2018. Evolution of ‘smoke’ induced seed germination in pyroendemic plants. South African J. Bot. 115: 251-255 [doi | pdf] <- New

[6] Moreira B. & Pausas J.G. 2018. Shedding light through the smoke on the germination of Mediterranean Basin flora. South African J. Bot. 115: 244-250 [doi | pdf] <- New

[7] Smoke and human evolution, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2016/08/31/

Smoke and human evolution

August 31st, 2016 1 comment

In this blog we have discussed that some plants have evolved seeds with sensitivity to chemicals produced by fire in such a way that these chemicals stimulate the germination of the plants after a fire; we call this process smoke-stimulated germination [1-3]. Well, plants are not the only organisms that have evolved in response to chemicals present in the smoke, humans too! A recent paper show that modern humans are the only primates (including early hominids as Nearthentals and Denisovans) that carry a mutation increasing tolerance to smoke chemicals produced by fires [4]. This mutation could have given an evolutionary advantage to modern humans in relation to other hominids as allowed them to use fire for many important activities (e.g., cooking, hunting, defense, heating, agriculture). This high exposure to smoke would have also increased the susceptibility to pulmonary infections, and even the evolution of some of them (tuberculosis [5]). The tolerance to smoke also allowed modern humans to have some tolerance to pollution and to smoke cigarettes! That is, the ability to smoke could be a side effect (an exaptation, if you’d like) of been adapted to use fire, and in fact, it currently acts as a secondary sexual character!

woody-allen-smoking
Smoking as a secondary sexual character (Woody Allen in Manhattan, 1979).

References
[1] Moreira B., Tormo J., Estrelles E., Pausas J.G. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Annals of Botany 105: 627-635. [doi | pdf | post]

[2] Tormo, J., B. Moreira, and J. G. Pausas. 2014. Field evidence of smoke-stimulated seedling emergence and establishment in Mediterranean Basin flora. Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 771-777. [doi | wiley | pdf | post]

[3] Smoke-stimulated germination, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2011/12/02/

[4] Hubbard, T.D., Murray, I.A., Bisson, W.H., Sullivan, A.P., Sebastian, A., Perry, G.H., Jablonski, N.G. & Perdew, G.H. (2016) Divergent Ah receptor ligand selectivity during hominin evolution. Mol. Biol. Evol., 33:2648-2658.

[5] Chisholm, R.H., Trauer, J.M., Curnoe, D. & Tanaka, M.M. (2016). Controlled fire use in early humans might have triggered the evolutionary emergence of tuberculosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 9051-9056.

Fire drives trait divergence: smoke-induced germination

April 3rd, 2014 No comments

There is an increasing evidence that recurrent fires are driving within species phenotypic variability, and that different fire regimes can generate trait divergence among populations [1]. For instance, populations of the annual species Helenium aromaticum (Asteraceae) growing under different fire histories in Chile have different seed traits in such a way that the anthropogenic increase in fire frequency selected for an increasing in seed pubescence [2]. In the Mediterranean Basin there is also evidence of phenotypic divergence among populations under different fire regimes: Ulex parviflorus (Fabaceae) plants living under high fire frequency are more flammable than those growing in sites that have not suffered fires [3-5]; Pinus halepensis and P. pinaster living under high crown-fire frequency have higher serotiny that those living in areas that rarely burn in crown fires [6]

A recent paper add further examples of this fire-driven trait divergence: Vandvik et al. show that smoke-induced germination is observed in populations of Calluna vulgaris (Ericaceae) from traditionally burnt coastal heathlands of Norway but it is lacking in populations from other habitats with infrequent fires [7]. The results are also consistent with the suggestion that smoke-induced germination is a fire adaptation [8-9].

Calluna-smoke-germination

Figure: Probability of germination of Calluna vulgaris in relation to time (days) since sowing for smoke-treated (pink) and control (grey) seeds, in coastal and inland heathlands of Norway. From Vandvik et al. 2014 [7].

References:

[1] Pausas, J. G. and D. W. Schwilk. 2012. Fire and plant evolution. New Phytologist 193 (2). [doi | pdf | blog]

[2] Gómez-González S, Torres-Díaz C, Bustos-Schindler C, Gianoli E, 2011. Anthropogenic fire drives the evolution of seed traits. PNAS 108: 18743-18747. [doi blog]

[3] Pausas J.G., Alessio G., Moreira B. & Corcobado G. 2012. Fires enhance flammability in Ulex parviflorusNew Phytologist 193: 18-23. [doi | pdf | blog]

[4] Pausas J.G. & Moreira B. 2012. Flammability as a biological concept. New Phytologist 194: 610-613. [doi | wiley | pdf]

[5] Moreira B., Castellanos M.C., Pausas J.G. 2014. Genetic component of flammability variation in a Mediterranean shrub. Molecular Ecology 23: 1213-1223. [doi | pdf | suppl. | data:dryad | blog]

[6] Hernández-Serrano A., Verdú M., González-Martínez S.C., Pausas J.G. 2013. Fire structures pine serotiny at different scales. American Journal of Botany 100 (12): 2349-2356. [doi | amjbot | pdf | supp. | blog]

[7] Vandvik, V., J. P. Töpper, Z. Cook, M. I. Daws, E. Heegaard, I. E. Måren, and L. G. Velle. 2014. Management-driven evolution in a domesticated ecosystem. Biology Letters 10 (2): 20131082. [doi]

[8] Pausas J.G. & Keeley J.E. 2009. A burning story: The role of fire in the history of life. BioScience 59: 593-601 [doi | jstor | BioOne | pdf | scribd | ppt slides | post]

[9] Keeley J.E., Pausas J.G., Rundel P.W., Bond W.J., Bradstock R.A. 2011. Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science 16(8): 406-411. [doi | trends | pdf]

 

Smoke-stimulated recruitment

September 16th, 2013 No comments

In many plant species from mediterranean ecosystems, germination is promoted by fire [1]; this effect may be driven by the heat [e.g., 2-4] or by the chemicals produced by the fire (e.g., smoke, 4,5]). Most information regarding to smoke-stimulated germination in the Mediterranean Basin comes from a few experiments performed in laboratory conditions. This approach does not consider factors that occur in the field, such as species interactions, density-dependent processes or the fact that seeds spent time in the soil. A recent field experiment performed in eastern Spain show that smoke increase overall seedling recruitment, specially seedlings of annual plant species [6]. However, despite most species had higher seedling establishment in the smoke than in the control subplots, there were very few species in which the effect of smoke was statistically significant, suggesting that the community response to smoke cannot be inferred from individual species; it is the sum of small differences in each species towards the same direction that produces a significant pattern at community scale. This emerging property of the community is often neglected by only considering germination experiments in the laboratory. The results also suggest that the effect of smoke in annual species of the Mediterranean Basin might be more relevant than previously thought.

References
[1] Keeley J.E., Bond W.J., Bradstock R.A., Pausas J.G. & Rundel P.W. 2012. Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems: Ecology, Evolution and Management. Cambridge University Press. [The book]

[2] Paula S. & Pausas J.G. 2008. Burning seeds: Germinative response to heat treatments in relation to resprouting ability. Journal of Ecology 96 (3): 543 – 552. [pdf | doi]

[3] Moreira B. & Pausas J.G. 2012. Tanned or burned: The role of fire in shaping physical seed dormancy. PLoS ONE 7: e51523. [doi | plos | pdfblog]

[4] Moreira B., Tormo J., Estrelles E., Pausas J.G. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Annals of Botany 105: 627-635. [pdf | doi | post]

[5] Smoke-stimulated germination, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es, 2/Dec/2011.

[6] Tormo, J., B. Moreira, and J. G. Pausas. 2014. Field evidence of smoke-stimulated seedling emergence and establishment in Mediterranean Basin flora. Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 771-777 [doi | wiley | pdf]

New Book: Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems

March 13th, 2012 No comments

Finally the new fire ecology book by Keeley et al. (2012) has been published:



For more information, table of contents, etc, see here.

Cambridge UP (ukusaau), Amazon (ukusajp), eBooks

Smoke-stimulated germination

December 2nd, 2011 No comments

It is know that the germination of some species from Mediterranean fire-prone ecosystems is triggered by combustion chemicals which appear in the smoke and the charred wood (for simplicity, we use the term “smoke-stimulate germination”). This smoke-stimulated germination is now known from many post-fire recruiting species in South Africa, Australia, California and the Mediterranean Basin [e.g., 1-4]. Certain nitrogen oxides (NOx) induce germination in a limited number post-fire species [3], but this does not apply to most the smoke-stimulated species. In 2004 two independent studies isolated the active organic compound from the smoke that stimulates germination [5,6]: butanolide (also named karrikinolide). Because this compound is a derived from the combustion of cellulose it was thought to be universal germination cue in all smoke-stimulated plants. However, the fact that smoke-induced germination appears in very distant regions and in species from very different lineages, suggest that unrelated species could had evolve mechanisms that are triggered by different components from the smoke [7]. Later it was demonstrated that some species with smoke-stimulated germination did not responded to butanolide, supporting the idea that could be multiple mechanisms to stimulate germination by smoke [8]. A recent paper has found a new smoke-stimulation mechanism from which burning plant material produces cyanide that stimulate the germination of some species [9]. Little by little we are learning on the role of fire in plant ecology and evolution [7, 10].

Figure:  Germination percentage (mean+s.e.) in relation to time since sowing (days) for Cistus monspeliensis after different heat treatments (A), and for Lavandula stoechas after different smoke treatments (B). From Moreira et al. (2010) [4]

References:
[1] Brown, N. A. C. 1993. Promotion of germination of fynbos seeds by plant-derived smoke. New Phytologist 123:575-584.

[2] Dixon, K. W., S. Roche, and J. S. Pate. 1995. The promotive effect of smoke derived from burnt native vegetation on seed germination of Western Australian plants. Oecologia 101:185-192.

[3] Keeley, J. E. and C. J. Fotheringham. 2000. Role of fire in regeneration from seeds. Pages 311-330 in M. Fenner, editor. Seeds: The ecology of regeneration in plant communities. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

[4] Moreira, B., J. Tormo, E. Estrelles, and J. G. Pausas. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Annals of Botany 105:627-635. [doi | pdf | post]

[5] Van Staden, J., A. Jäger, M. Light, and B. Burger. 2004. Isolation of the major germination cue from plant-derived smoke. South African Journal of Botany 70:654-659.

[6] Flematti, G. R., E. L. Ghisalberti, K. W. Dixon, and R. D. Trengove. 2004. A compound from smoke that promotes seed germination. Science 305:977.

[7] Pausas, J. G. and J. E. Keeley. 2009. A burning story: The role of fire in the history of life. Bioscience 59:593-601. [doi | pdf | post]

[8] Downes, K. S., B. B. Lamont, M. E. Light, and J. van Staden. 2010. The fire ephemeral Tersonia cyathiflora (Gyrostemonaceae) germinates in response to smoke but not the butenolide 3-methyl-2H-furol[2,3-c]pyran-2-one. Annals of Botany 106:381-384.

[9] Flematti, G. R., D. J. Merritt, M. J. Piggott, R. D. Trengove, S. M. Smith, K. W. Dixon, and E. L. Ghisalberti. 2011. Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination. Nature Comm. 2:360.

[10] Keeley, J. E., J. G. Pausas, P. W. Rundel, W. J. Bond, and R. A. Bradstock. 2011. Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science 16:406-411. [doi | pdf | post]

Heat and smoke as germination cues in the Mediterranean flora

February 25th, 2010 No comments

Until now, the role of fire as a germination cue for Mediterranean Basin plants was unclear. The idea was that heat stimulates germination mainly in Cistaceae and Fabaceae and that smoke had a limited role as a post-fire germination cue, in comparison to other Mediterranean Type Ecosystems (MTE), suggesting that fire-stimulated germination is less relevant in the Mediterranean Basin than in other Mediterranean regions. However, in a recent paper, Moreira et al. (2010) demonstrate that both heat and smoke stimulates the germination (both amount and rate) of a range of woody species from the Mediterranean Basin flora. In addition, some species also showed enhanced seedling growth after the smoke treatment (Figure below). All these results suggest that fire-cued germination in woody plants of Mediterranean Basin may be as important as in other Mediterranean regions, and that fire had a strong role in shaping the Mediterranean species.

Moreira B., Tormo J., Estrelles E., Pausas J.G. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Annals of Botany 105: 627-635. [pdf | doi]

Moreira-control-smoke2

Differences in size between seedlings from untreated (control, left) and treated seeds (smoke, right), for Lavandula latifolia (8 days after seedling emergence). The white squares are of 2.5cm width.