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How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima

We examined whether the presence or absence of different environmental stressors influenced the reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species—Plantago maritima. We focused on total seed output, seed quality, and biomass of progeny. So far, there are no studies trying to answer the question of how di...

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Autores principales: Lazarus, Magdalena, Mazur, Jacek, Wszałek‐Rożek, Katarzyna, Zwolicki, Adrian
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8019050/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33841783
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7277
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author Lazarus, Magdalena
Mazur, Jacek
Wszałek‐Rożek, Katarzyna
Zwolicki, Adrian
author_facet Lazarus, Magdalena
Mazur, Jacek
Wszałek‐Rożek, Katarzyna
Zwolicki, Adrian
author_sort Lazarus, Magdalena
collection PubMed
description We examined whether the presence or absence of different environmental stressors influenced the reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species—Plantago maritima. We focused on total seed output, seed quality, and biomass of progeny. So far, there are no studies trying to answer the question of how different saltmarsh management affects the quality of seed in saltmarsh species. For the purposes of the study, plots subjected to light mowing, light or heavy grazing, trampling, or rooting were designated in three nature reserves in Poland. On each plot, the abundance of infructescences per sq. meter was calculated. Mature infructescences were collected, and their length and number of fruit capsules were measured. The seeds obtained from fruit capsules were weighted and sown in controlled conditions. The germination rate and the final germination percentage were calculated. A representative number of sprouts were grown. After a period of 2 months, the individuals of P. maritima were harvested and their total dry mass was measured. It was found that heavy grazing had the greatest effect on all of the studied characteristics. The presence of this factor resulted in shorter infructescences with a smaller number of fruit capsules. However, this phenomenon was compensated by the higher abundance of infructescences per sq. meter. At the same time, seeds produced by grazed individuals were significantly lighter. Interestingly, intensive trampling by people affected P. maritima individuals in a similar way to heavy grazing, while mowing and rooting had less impact on the considered characteristics. Although a positive correlation between seed mass and germination success was found, the altogether lower seed mass had a negligible effect on germination parameters. Also, the differences in seed parameters did not affect dry mass of obtained progeny grown in laboratory conditions. Synthesis and applications: Different environmental stressors, such as grazing and mowing, have an effect on reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species P. maritima. In the case of habitats created anthropogenically, such as brackish saltmarshes, the role of management is crucial for their conservation. Therefore, searching for the best active protection methods is important. In light of the results obtained, extensive or rotational grazing appears to be the best form of saltmarsh management.
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spelling pubmed-80190502021-04-08 How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima Lazarus, Magdalena Mazur, Jacek Wszałek‐Rożek, Katarzyna Zwolicki, Adrian Ecol Evol Original Research We examined whether the presence or absence of different environmental stressors influenced the reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species—Plantago maritima. We focused on total seed output, seed quality, and biomass of progeny. So far, there are no studies trying to answer the question of how different saltmarsh management affects the quality of seed in saltmarsh species. For the purposes of the study, plots subjected to light mowing, light or heavy grazing, trampling, or rooting were designated in three nature reserves in Poland. On each plot, the abundance of infructescences per sq. meter was calculated. Mature infructescences were collected, and their length and number of fruit capsules were measured. The seeds obtained from fruit capsules were weighted and sown in controlled conditions. The germination rate and the final germination percentage were calculated. A representative number of sprouts were grown. After a period of 2 months, the individuals of P. maritima were harvested and their total dry mass was measured. It was found that heavy grazing had the greatest effect on all of the studied characteristics. The presence of this factor resulted in shorter infructescences with a smaller number of fruit capsules. However, this phenomenon was compensated by the higher abundance of infructescences per sq. meter. At the same time, seeds produced by grazed individuals were significantly lighter. Interestingly, intensive trampling by people affected P. maritima individuals in a similar way to heavy grazing, while mowing and rooting had less impact on the considered characteristics. Although a positive correlation between seed mass and germination success was found, the altogether lower seed mass had a negligible effect on germination parameters. Also, the differences in seed parameters did not affect dry mass of obtained progeny grown in laboratory conditions. Synthesis and applications: Different environmental stressors, such as grazing and mowing, have an effect on reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species P. maritima. In the case of habitats created anthropogenically, such as brackish saltmarshes, the role of management is crucial for their conservation. Therefore, searching for the best active protection methods is important. In light of the results obtained, extensive or rotational grazing appears to be the best form of saltmarsh management. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-03-06 /pmc/articles/PMC8019050/ /pubmed/33841783 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7277 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Lazarus, Magdalena
Mazur, Jacek
Wszałek‐Rożek, Katarzyna
Zwolicki, Adrian
How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title_full How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title_fullStr How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title_full_unstemmed How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title_short How environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species Plantago maritima
title_sort how environmental stressors affect reproductive potential in a saltmarsh plant species plantago maritima
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8019050/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33841783
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7277
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