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Factors affecting germination and establishment success of an endemic cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert

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Abstract

Seeds and seedlings are the most critical stages of cacti life cycles. From the thousands of seeds produced in a reproductive season, only a small fraction successfully germinate, the rest are lost to predation, go dormant, and remain viable in the seed bank, or lose viability. These early stages often depend on facilitation by nurse plants for germination and seedling recruitment. We aim to prescribe actions for the conservation of Cephalocereus polylophus by improving recruitment in the population. The viability of seeds with different storage times was evaluated as an indicator of their potential to form a short-term seed bank. Through the analysis of seed germination and seedling survival under the canopy of two nurse plant species and open areas, we assessed the importance of facilitation for recruitment. A predator exclusion experiment evaluated the intensity of granivory and herbivory on seedlings of different ages. Seeds had germination rates above 90% under laboratory conditions, even after 2 years of storage. Seed germination was only registered under one of the two nurses and after 2 years, up to 4% of the seedlings planted under both nurse plants survived. Age and protection against herbivores increased seedlings survival. Facilitation and age are crucial for the recruitment of C. polylophus, and future conservation programs should include the protection of plant communities and the introduction of seedlings instead of seeds.

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Acknowledgements

This research is part of the bachelor’s degree studies of Ortiz-Martínez Eder (UAM-X) and the PhD studies of Arroyo-Cosultchi Gabriel. Financial support was provided by CONACyT(165908) to MCM, CONACyT sabbatical leave scholarship to JG and PASPA-DGAPA sabbatical scholarship to MCM. We appreciate the suggestions provided by Mariana Rojas-Aréchiga and Susana Guillén Rodríguez on an earlier version of the manuscript and three anonymous reviewers who significantly improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento El Hombre y su Ambiente, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Xochimilco, Calzada del Hueso 1100. Col Villa Quietud, 04960, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Eder Ortiz-Martínez, Jordan Golubov & Gabriel Arroyo-Cosultchi

  2. Laboratorio de Genética y Ecología, Departamento de Ecología de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apartado Postal 70-275, Ciudad Universitaria UNAM, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    María C. Mandujano

  3. Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Gabriel Arroyo-Cosultchi

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  1. Eder Ortiz-Martínez
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  2. Jordan Golubov
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  3. María C. Mandujano
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  4. Gabriel Arroyo-Cosultchi
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Correspondence to Gabriel Arroyo-Cosultchi.

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Ortiz-Martínez, E., Golubov, J., Mandujano, M.C. et al. Factors affecting germination and establishment success of an endemic cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert. Plant Ecol 222, 953–963 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01153-1

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