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Leaf litter of Kageneckia angustifolia D. Don (Rosaceae) inhibits seed germination in sclerophyllous montane woodlands of central Chile

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Abstract

Leaf litter accumulation can have either positive, negative or neutral effects on seed germination and seedling recruitment. In montane woodlands of the Mediterranean zone of central Chile, large amounts of leaf litter accumulate beneath the crowns of the summer semi-deciduous tree Kageneckia angustifolia and no regeneration of this or other plant species has been observed beneath this tree throughout the year. In a sample plot of 5000 m2 we selected ten K. angustifolia trees and measured (1) leaf litter accumulation beneath and outside canopy; (2) the effects of time elapsed since burial on viability of K. angustifolia seeds with and without a leaf litter cover; (3) field seed germination with presence or absence of leaf litter and (4) the possible chemical effects of K. angustifolia leaf litter leachates on seed germination of its own seeds and of other two co-occurring native shrubs species (Guindilia trinervis and Solanum ligustrinum). Our results show that a considerable accumulation of leaf litter occurred beneath K. angustifolia, and litter negatively affected seed viability and germination of this species in the field. Under laboratory conditions, K. angustifolia leaf litter leachates inhibited seed germination of its own seeds and of the two native shrub species. Chemical effects are likely involved in the negative effects of leaf litter on the recruitment of K. angustifolia in the montane sclerophyllous woodland of central Chile.

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Acknowledgments

To Juan Valencia and Italo Bavestrello for their field assistance. To Chris Lusk and Alejandro A. Muñoz for their comments and improvement of English. Martín Oesterheld and two anonymous reviewers also made valuable comments to this contribution. Research funded by DTI 92-092-Universidad de Chile and P0-051-F-ICM Center for Advances Studies in Ecology and Research in Biodiversity. P. Chacón is a Postdoctoral research fellow supported by the Millennium Scientific Initiative (CMEB) P0-051-F. BBVA Prize in Conservation of Biodiversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, 160-C, Casilla, Concepción, Chile

    Lohengrin A. Cavieres, Paulina Chacón & Marco Molina-Montenegro

  2. Poch Ambiental S.A., Santiago, Chile

    Alejandro Peñaloza

  3. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, 653, Casilla, Santiago, Chile

    Lohengrin A. Cavieres & Mary T. K. Arroyo

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  1. Lohengrin A. Cavieres
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  2. Paulina Chacón
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  3. Alejandro Peñaloza
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  4. Marco Molina-Montenegro
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  5. Mary T. K. Arroyo
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Correspondence to Lohengrin A. Cavieres.

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Cavieres, L.A., Chacón, P., Peñaloza, A. et al. Leaf litter of Kageneckia angustifolia D. Don (Rosaceae) inhibits seed germination in sclerophyllous montane woodlands of central Chile. Plant Ecol 190, 13–22 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9187-3

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