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Seed Germination Ecology in Rupestrian Grasslands

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Ecology and Conservation of Mountaintop grasslands in Brazil

Abstract

Germination behavior is a phenotype that results from the interaction between seed properties (intrinsic factors) and environmental (extrinsic) factors. Since germination is an irreversible process and seedling stage is particularly susceptible to harsh conditions, selection should favor strategies that prevent seeds from germinating under unfavorable conditions for plant establishment. Plant species inhabiting rupestrian grasslands of Espinhaço Mountain Range in Brazil have been considered to have particular germination behaviors that allow plant community to persist in an environment with marked seasonal and spatial heterogeneity. Here, we aimed to review data on germination ecology of rupestrian grasslands species and to describe how environmental and intrinsic factors control seedling emergence, trying to disentangle the contribution of each factor and emphasize how they may interact. We further discuss how the breadth of germination niches may influence the ecological distribution of adult plants at both microhabitat and biogeographic scale and how knowledge on seed biology can contribute to restoration of degraded areas in the rupestrian grasslands.

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Acknowledgements

Several grants by CNPq, Fapemig, and logistic support by Reserva Vellozia are acknowledged by F.P. Nunes and G.W. Fernandes. R.L.C. Dayrell acknowledges a Ph.D. scholarship from CAPES. Q.S. Garcia, G.W. Fernandes and F.A.O. Silveira receive a research productivity grant from CNPq.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade/DBG, CP 486, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, 30161-901, Brazil

    Flávia Peres Nunes, Daniel Negreiros & G. Wilson Fernandes

  2. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Depto. Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, 30161-901, Brazil

    Roberta L. C. Dayrell, Fernando A. O. Silveira & Queila Souza Garcia

  3. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, 38408-100, Brazil

    Denise Garcia de Santana & Fabio Janoni Carvalho

  4. Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94395, USA

    G. Wilson Fernandes

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  1. Flávia Peres Nunes
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  2. Roberta L. C. Dayrell
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  3. Fernando A. O. Silveira
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Correspondence to Flávia Peres Nunes .

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  1. Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerai, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Geraldo Wilson Fernandes

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Nunes, F.P. et al. (2016). Seed Germination Ecology in Rupestrian Grasslands. In: Fernandes, G. (eds) Ecology and Conservation of Mountaintop grasslands in Brazil. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29808-5_10

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