The effects of seed enhancements on plant establishment in native grasses: A meta-analysis

IF 2 3区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Applied Vegetation Science Pub Date : 2024-04-09 DOI:10.1111/avsc.12774

Bianca Berto, Alison L. Ritchie, Todd E. Erickson

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Questions

Native grasses are widespread with high commercial value and demand across the restoration sector, though their uptake is often hampered by seed-use challenges. Seed enhancement technologies (SETs) provide a valuable tool for improving plant establishment outcomes for species (such as native grasses) where seed-based approaches are essential to achieve large-scale targets. However, due to the increased investment in resources and time associated with application of SETs, their adoption is dependent on the ability of these treatments to consistently provide benefits to one or more demographic life stages, particularly under field conditions. This meta-analysis addresses the following research question: what are the overall effects of SETs on plant establishment outcomes compared to untreated florets or seeds in native grasses globally?

Location

Global.

Methods

The effects of six major SET categories (acid treatment, coating, pelleting, flash flaming, priming, and treatment combinations) on germination, emergence, and shoot and root length and biomass were explored. Furthermore, the consistency of the effects of SETs across study types (i.e., laboratory, glasshouse, and field) was investigated.

Results

The overall effects of SETs on native grasses in this meta-analysis were positive for germination (16% improvement), emergence (22% improvement), and growth (6.42–8.86 cm and 2.26–2.77 g increase in seedling length and biomass, respectively). However, effects ranged from neutral to positive when data were grouped by SET type, with coating, pelleting and priming delivering consistent benefits across multiple life stages, and acid treatments, flash flaming, and combination treatments having mixed effects. This analysis also provided evidence that benefits observed from SET application in laboratory and glasshouse studies are not translating to field environments.

Conclusions

Overall, SETs generally had positive effects and can therefore provide a relatively low-risk approach to improving seed-based restoration outcomes in native grasses. Continued SET research focussed on long-term plant establishment outcomes in field environments is needed to further advance SET uptake.

Abstract Image

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种子强化对本地草类植株生长的影响：荟萃分析

问题土生草本植物种类繁多，具有很高的商业价值，恢复领域对其需求量也很大，但种子使用方面的挑战往往阻碍了它们的吸收。种子强化技术（SET）为改善物种（如本地草）的植物建植成果提供了宝贵的工具，在这种情况下，以种子为基础的方法对实现大规模目标至关重要。然而，由于应用种子强化技术需要投入更多的资源和时间，其应用取决于这些处理方法能否持续为一个或多个人口生命阶段带来益处，尤其是在田间条件下。本荟萃分析报告探讨了以下研究问题：在全球范围内，与未经处理的小花或种子相比，SET 对本地禾本科植物生长结果的总体影响如何？地点全球。方法探讨了六种主要 SET 种类（酸处理、包衣、造粒、闪火、引燃和处理组合）对发芽、出苗、芽和根的长度及生物量的影响。此外，还调查了不同研究类型（即实验室、温室和田间）中自燃处理效果的一致性。结果在这项荟萃分析中，SET 对本地禾本科植物的总体影响是：发芽（提高 16%）、出苗（提高 22%）和生长（苗长和生物量分别增加 6.42-8.86 厘米和 2.26-2.77 克）。不过，如果按 SET 类型对数据进行分组，效果则从中性到积极不等，包衣、造粒和打底在多个生命阶段都能带来一致的效益，而酸处理、闪火处理和综合处理则效果参差不齐。这项分析还提供了证据，表明在实验室和温室研究中观察到的施用固态杀菌剂的益处并没有转化到田间环境中。结论总的来说，SET 一般都有积极的效果，因此可以提供一种风险相对较低的方法来改善本地草种的恢复效果。需要继续开展 SET 研究，重点关注植物在田间环境中的长期生长结果，以进一步促进 SET 的吸收。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Applied Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

10.70%

发文量

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Applied Vegetation Science focuses on community-level topics relevant to human interaction with vegetation, including global change, nature conservation, nature management, restoration of plant communities and of natural habitats, and the planning of semi-natural and urban landscapes. Vegetation survey, modelling and remote-sensing applications are welcome. Papers on vegetation science which do not fit to this scope (do not have an applied aspect and are not vegetation survey) should be directed to our associate journal, the Journal of Vegetation Science. Both journals publish papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities.