Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Seed reserve translocation and early seedling growth of eight tree species in a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Seed reserves play an essential role during germination and seedling establishment and are particularly important for species that grow in seasonal ecosystems with a short growing season. In this study, we examined (a) how and when the seedlings change their dependence from seed resources to external resources, (b) the lipid, nitrogen, and non-structural carbohydrate reserve translocation from seeds to seedlings over time, and (c) whether reserve translocation may be correlated to cotyledon and leaf lifespan of seedlings for eight tree species in a tropical deciduous forest in north-western Mexico. Our results showed that the cotyledon lifespan was not related to the cotyledon type (photosynthetic or reserve) and that the cotyledon biomass did not decrease significantly until germination. In six of the eight studied species, biomass allocation to the leaves was favored; lipids were the first reserve exhausted before the first leaves were totally expanded in seven of the eight study species. Species with the highest N concentration had expanded leaves and lost their cotyledons faster than species with a low N concentration. Our results suggest that tropical deciduous forest species employ different strategies to survive the dry season and re-sprout in the next growing season mediated by seed reserve concentrations, translocation patterns and subsequent biomass allocation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altshul AML, Yatsu Y, Ory RL, Engleman EM (1966) Seed proteins. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 17:113–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ampofo ST, Moore KG, Lovell PH (1976) Cotyledon photosynthesis during seedling development in Acer. New Phytol 76:41–52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton FM (1976) Mobilization of storage proteins of seeds. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 27:95–117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bazzaz FA (1996) Plants in changing environments: linking physiological, population, and community ecology. Cambridge University, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bewley D, Black M (1998) Seeds: physiology of development and germination. Plenum Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonfil SC (1998) The effect of seed size, cotyledon reserves and herbivory on seedling survival and growth in Quercus rugosa and Q. laurina (Fagaceae). Am J Bot 85:79–87

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borek S, Ratajczak W, Ratajczak L (2006) Ultrastructural and enzymatic research on the role of sucrose in mobilization of storage lipids in germinating yellow lupine seeds. Plant Sci 170:441–452

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borges-Corte V, de Lima BE, Aparecida PC, de Almeida L, Contin VM, de Almeida MA (2006) Mobilização de reservas durante a germinação das sementes e crescimento das plântulas de Caesalpinia peltophoroides benth. (leguminosae-caesalpinoideae). Revista Árvore 30:941–949

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouaziz A, Hicks DR (1990) Consumption of wheat seed reserves during germination and early growth as affected by soil water potential. Plant Soil 128:161–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckeridge MS, Pessoa DSH, Tiné MA (2000) Mobilisation of storage cell wall polysaccharides in seeds. Plant Physiol Biochem 38:141–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock SH (1986) Climate of Chamela, Jalisco, and trends in the south coastal region of Mexico. Arch Meteorol, Geophy Bioclimatol 36:297–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock SH, Solis-Magallanes JA (1990) Phenology of canopy trees of a tropical deciduous forest. Biotropica 22:22–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccon E, Huante P, Rincon E (2006) Abiotic factors influencing tropical dry forests regeneration. Braz Arch Biol Technol 49:305–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coruzzi GM, Zhou L (2001) Carbon and nitrogen sensing and signalling in plants: emerging ‘matrix effects’. Curr Opin Plant Bio 4:247–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dae-Jae K (2004) A study of cotyledon senescence in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) based on expressed sequence tags and gene expression. J Plant Biol 47:244–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalling JW, Hubbell SP, Silvera K (1997) Seed dispersal, seedling establishment and gap partitioning among tropical pioneer trees. J Ecol 86:674–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darbelley N, Razafindramboa N, Chambost JP, Pavia A (1997) Light effects on α-amylase activity and carbohydrate content in relation to lipid mobilization during the seedling growth of sunflower. J Plant Res 110:347–356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daws MI, Ballard AC, Mullins CE, Garwood NC, Murray B, Pearson TRH, Burslem D (2007) Allometric relationships between seed mass and seedling characteristics reveal trade-offs for neotropical gap-dependent species. Oecologia 154:445–454

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubois M, Gilles KA, Hamilton JK, Rebers PA, Smith F (1956) Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances. Anal Chem 28:350–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastmond PJ, Graham IA (2001) Re-examining the role of the glyoxylate cycle in oilseeds. Trends Plant Sci 6:72–78

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fenner M, Thompson K (2006) The ecology of seeds. Cambridge University, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkes BF (1970) The physiology of the synthesis of amino acids and their movement into the seed proteins of plants. Proc Nutr Soc 29:12–20

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel da Silva TR, Cortelazzo AL, Machado SCD (1998) Variations in storage compounds during germination and early plantlet growth of Dalbergia miscolobium. Revista Brasilerira de Fisiologia Vegetal 10:119–124

    Google Scholar 

  • García-Agustin P, Primo-Millo E (1990) Changes in some nitrogenous components during the germination of citrus seeds. Sci Hortic 43:69–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhardt K (1996) Effects of root competition and canopy openness on survival and growth of tree seedlings in a tropical seasonal dry forest. For Ecol Manag 3:33–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez GM (2001) Dinámica foliar comparativa y aspectos fisiológicos en plántulas de 20 especies leñosas de la Selva Baja Caducifolia de Chamela, Jalisco. BSc Dissertation. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

  • Green PJ, Juniper PA (2004) Seed-seedling allometry in tropical rain forest trees: seed mass-related patterns of resource allocation and the ‘reserve effect’. J Ecol 92:397–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (2001) Plant strategies, vegetation processes, and ecosystem properties. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanley ME, Fenner M, Whibley H, Darvill B (2004) Early plant growth: identifying the end point of the seedling phase. New Phytol 163:61–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen P (1971) C-Studies on apple trees. VII. The early seasonal growth in leaves, flowers and shoots as dependent upon current photosynthates and existing reserves. Physiol Plant 25:469–473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper JL, Benton RA (1966) The behaviour of seeds in soil: II. The germination of seeds on the surface of a water supplying substrate. J Ecol 54:151–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris M, Machender RO, Smith DL (1986) Photosynthesis of cotyledons of soybean seedlings. New Phytol 104:319–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henery ML, Westoby M (2001) Seed mass and seed nutrient content as predictors of seed output variation between species. Oikos 92:479–490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heupel T, Kutschera U (1996) Pigment accumulation, dark respiration and photosynthesis during the greening of sunflower cotyledons. J Plant Physiol 147:567–572

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hladik A, Miquel S (1990) Seedling types and plant establishment in an African rain forest. In: Bawa KS, Hadley M (eds) Reproductive ecology of tropical forest plants. Man and the Biosphere Series. UNESCO, Paris, pp 261–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Huante P, Rincón E, Acosta I (1995) Nutrient availability and growth rate of 34 woody species from a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico. Funct Ecol 9:849–858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt R (1986) Plant growth curves the functional approach to plant growth analysis. Arnold, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ichie T, Ninomiya I, Ogino K (2001) Utilization of seed reserves during germination and early seedling growth by Dryobalanops lanceolata (Dipterocarpaceae). J Trop Ecol 17:371–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabeya D, Sakai S (2003) The role of roots and cotyledon as storage organs in early stages of establishment in Quercus crispula: a quantitative analysis of the nonstructural carbohydrate in cotyledons and roots. Ann Bot 92:537–545

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy PG, Hausmann NJ, Wenk EH, Dawson TE (2004) The importance of seed reserves for seedling performance: an integrated approach using morphological, physiological and stable isotope techniques. Oecologia 141:547–554

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khurana E, Singh JS (2001) Ecology of tree seed and seedlings: implications for tropical forest conservation and restoration. Curr Sci 82:748–757

    Google Scholar 

  • Kidson R, Westoby M (2000) Seed mass and seedling dimensions in relation to seedling establishment. Oecologia 125:11–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King JE, Gifford DJ (1997) Amino acid utilization in seeds of loblolly pine during germination and early seedling growth. I. Arginine and arginase activity. Plant Physiol 113:1125–1135

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K (1992) Relationship between photosynthesis and thickness of cotyledons for tropical tree species. Funct Ecol 6:582–589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K (1996) Cotyledon functional morphology, patterns of seed reserve utilization and regeneration niches of tropical tree seedlings. In: Swaine MD (ed) The ecology of tropical forest tree seedlings. Parthenon, Carnforth, pp 193–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K (2002) Do shade-tolerant tropical tree seedlings depend longer on seed reserves? functional growth analysis of three Bignoniaceae species. Funct Ecol 16:433–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K (2003) Impact of cotyledon and leaf removal on survival of young seedlings with contrasting cotyledon morphologies. Biotropica 35:429–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K, Fenner M (2000) Seedling regeneration ecology. In: Fenner M (ed) Seeds: ecology of regeneration in plant communities, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 331–360

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K, Myers JA (2008) Seedling ecophysiology; strategies toward achievement of positive net carbon balance. In: Leck MA, Parker TV, Simpson RL (eds) Seedling ecology and evolution. Cambridge University, Cambridge, pp 172–188

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Levin DA (1974) The oil content of seeds: an ecological perspective. Am Nat 108:193–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieffering M, Andrews M, Mckenzie BA (1996) Nitrate stimulation of mobilization of seed reserves in temperate cereals: importance of water uptake. Ann Bot 78:695–701

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall PE, Kozlowski TT (1974) Photosynthetic activity of cotyledons and foliage leaves of young angiosperm seedlings. Can J Bot 52:2023–2032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall PE, Kozlowski TT (1976) Importance of photosynthetic cotyledons for early growth of woody angiosperms. Physiol Plant 37:336–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin T, Oswald O, Graham IA (2002) Arabidopsis seedling growth, storage lipid mobilization, and photosynthetic gene expression are regulated by carbon: nitrogen availability. Plant Physiol 128:472–481

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moles AT, Westoby M (2006) Seed size and plant strategy across the whole life cycle. Oikos 113:91–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers J, Kitajima K (2007) Carbohydrate storage enhances seedling shade and stress tolerance in a neotropical forest. J Ecol 95:383–395

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nonogaki H (2008) Seed germination and reserve mobilization. In: ELS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0002047.pub2

  • Nonogaki H, Bassel GW, Bewley JD (2010) Germination—still a mystery. Plant Sci 179:574–581

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reid JSG (1971) Reserve carbohydrate metabolism in germinating seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Leguminosae). Planta 100:131–142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rzedowski J, Huertas ML (1981) Vegetación de México. Editorial Limusa, México, DF

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos HP, Buckeridge MS (2004) The role of the storage carbon of cotyledons in the establishment of seedlings of Hymenaea courbaril under different light conditions. Ann Bot 94:819–830

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sato T, Maekawa S, Yasuda S, Domeki Y, Sueyoshi D, Fujiwara M, Fukao Y, Goto DB, Yamaguchi J (2011) Identification of 14-3-3 proteins as a target of ATL31 ubiquitin ligase, a regulator of the C/N response in Arabidopsis. Plant J 68:137–146

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd KA, Macfarlane TD, Colmer TD (2005) Morphology, anatomy and histochemistry of Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae) fruits and seeds. Ann Bot 95:917–933

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J, Franco M, Pisanty I, Mendoza A (1993) Comparative plant demography. Relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. J Ecol 81:465–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slot M, Poorter L (2007) Diversity of tropical tree seedling responses to drought. Biotropica 39:683–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solbrig OT, Medina E, Silva JF (1996) Biodiversity and tropical savanna properties: a global view. In: Mooney HA, Cushman JH, Medina E, Sala OE, Schulze ED (eds) Biodiversity and global change. SCOPE 55. Wiley, New York, pp 185–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Soriano D, Orozco-Segovia A, Márquez-Guzmán J, Gamboa-deBuen A, Kitajima K, Huante P (2011) Seed reserve composition in nineteen tree species of a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico and its relationship to seed germination and seedling growth. Ann Bot 107:939–951

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suda CNK, Giorgini JF (2000) Seed reserve composition and mobilization during germination and initial seedling development of Euphorbia heterophylla. Rev Bras Fisiol Veg 12:226–244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swanborough P, Westoby M (1996) Seedling relative growth rate and its components in relation to seed size: phylogenetically independent contrasts. Funct Ecol 10:176–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taiz L, Zeiger E (2008) Plant Physiology Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland

  • Vázquez-Yanes C, Orozco-Segovia A (1993) Patterns of seed longevity and germination in the tropical rainforest. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 24:69–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vieira DLM, Scariot A (2006) Principles of natural regeneration of tropical dry forests for restoration. Rest Ecol 14:11–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werker E (1997) Seed anatomy. Encyclopedia of plant anatomy X, part 3. Gebruder Borntraeger, Berlin

  • Zanne AE, Chapman CA, Kitajima K (2005) Evolutionary and ecological correlates of early seedling morphology in east African trees and shrubs. Am J Bot 92:972–978

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng W, Yang ZH, Luan ZH, Wang P, Zhang HX, Zhou DW (2011) Compensatory growth and photosynthetic responses of Pharbitis purpurea seedlings to clipped cotyledon and second leaf. Photosynthetica 49:21–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas-UNAM and Chamela Biology Station (IB-UNAM) for the use of their research facilities. We thank Dr. Uromi Manage Goodale for her critical review and language editing. We thank to Ma. Esther Sanchez-Coronado, Irma Acosta and RocioGranier for their technical assistance. This work was supported by Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico-UNAM [IN 232802-3] and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Scholarship 187210 to Diana Soriano].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica, Departamento de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Diana Soriano, Pilar Huante, Alicia Gamboa-de Buen & Alma Orozco-Segovia

Authors
  1. Diana Soriano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pilar Huante
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alicia Gamboa-de Buen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alma Orozco-Segovia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana Soriano.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Soriano, D., Huante, P., Gamboa-de Buen, A. et al. Seed reserve translocation and early seedling growth of eight tree species in a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico. Plant Ecol 214, 1361–1375 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0257-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0257-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation