Conservation of Arid Plants Through Improved Understanding of Seed Biology As a Means of Enhancing the Functionality of Botanic Gardens
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Department of Environment and Agriculture Conservation of Arid Plants through Improved Understanding of Seed Biology as a Means of Enhancing the Functionality of Botanic Gardens Alaa Shallal Nayyef This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University July 2018 Declaration iii Statement of Contribution by others I, Alaa Shallal Nayyef, carried out all work described in this thesis including the literature review, research design planning, methodology, plant and seed investigation, data curation and analysis, botanical garden survey and writing with the advice and support of my supervisors: Dr. Deborah Pritchard, Dr. David Merritt and Dr. Shane Turner. Alaa Shallal Nayyef (PhD candidate) Deborah Pritchard (Primary supervisor) v Abstract Around the world many plant species are threatened by extinction and habitat loss particularly in dry arid lands due to the extreme environmental conditions and human disturbances leading to desertification. The Pilbara region in the north of Western Australia is one of the oldest biodiverse landscapes in the world with a semi-arid tropical climate. Mining, which is an important industry in this region, has been one of the main activities that has contributed to the loss of many plants species and requires active restoration for the disturbed areas following mine-site closure. Seeds are considered an important element in land restoration, however many species have poor germination and seedling emergence when used in restoration through either possessing seed dormancy or poorly resolved germination requirements developed as an adaptation in response to low irregular rainfall and high temperatures This study identifies the seed biology and germination requirements of seven species from three different native understory families (Cyperaceae, Goodeniaceae, Poaceae) that contribute to mine-site restoration in the Pilbara region. The first step of the study was to identify seeds and embryo characteristics and test seed coat permeability to water. A germination test using different incubation temperatures and germination stimulants was then conducted to establish which species were germinable and those that possessed seed dormancy. The experiments showed that seeds of Eragrostis eriopoda, Fimbristylis dichotoma and Goodenia stobbsiana were identified as having physiological dormancy while seeds of Cymbopogon obtectus, Eriachne mucronata, Goodenia armitiana and Goodenia cusackiana were found to be largely non-dormant germinating over a range of conditions. Additionally, seeds of Cymbopogon obtectus and Eriachne mucronata were also tested for germination with and without florets where it was found that germination of Eriachne mucronata decreases with the presence of florets but the seeds of Cymbopogon obtectus were unaffected by the surrounding florets germinating to >90% within 7 days. The second step was to overcome seed dormancy through several experiments that investigated afterripening and wet/dry cycling under different temperatures and durations and by using acid scarification for different durations and concentrations and mechanical scarification under various grit sizes and time combinations. Compared to other dormancy alleviating treatments investigated during this study both forms of scarification proved to be largely ineffective in overcoming seed dormancy though acid scarification was vi relatively more successful than mechanical scarification. Afterripening at 50°C and 50% RH for 26 weeks improved germination in Eragrostis eriopoda seeds when incubated at 25/45°C which proved to be the most effective treatment for overcoming dormancy in this species. In comparison, wet/dry cycling at 30°C and 50% RH for 18 months improved germination of Fimbristylis dichotoma seeds when incubated at 40°C. Both species showed a strong positive response to high temperature (~40°C) incubation suggesting that these two species require hot germination conditions compared to the other species assessed in this study. Afterripening at 30°C and 50% RH for 8 months was found to increase germination of Goodenia stobbsiana seeds when incubated at 25°C in the presence of KAR1. Enhancing the germination of non-dormant seeds was another target for this study with seed priming investigated as one possible way to improve the germination parameters of Cymbopogon obtectus and Eriachne mucronata seeds. For both species seeds were primed in aerated water for 3 hours, 6 hours, and 9 hours at room temperature (~23°C) and then tested for germination at 30°C under different water potentials (0, -0.25, -0.5, and -1.0 MPa) to simulate nil to severe moisture stress. In response to these germination conditions it was observed that certain priming treatments proved to be useful in enhancing overall germination of Cymbopogon obtectus, the rate of germination as well as improving the tolerance of germinating seeds to high moisture stress of Cymbopogon obtectus and Eriachne mucronata seeds. As a final contribution to improve arid land restoration and plant conservation a botanic gardens survey was undertaken and analysed to better understand how conservation and land restoration programs are implemented and managed by different botanic gardens across the world. This was done through a survey directly sent to many botanic gardens from different regions that contained 30 multiple choice and short worded questions. Results from the survey defined and outlined many structures, trends, strengths and weaknesses of botanic gardens. The findings have improved our knowledge of botanic gardens in arid regions to assist in future planning to support and promote their development in a number of key conservation, restoration, education and public engagement functions. Overall, this study provides information to assist restoration programs in arid lands particularly in the Pilbara region, with findings applicable for other arid lands that experience high temperatures and low irregular rainfall. The findings can be used to improve the functionality of botanic gardens from different environments; particularly vii those from semi-arid regions through achieving a better understanding of strategies used by botanic gardens in conservation research and provide a frame work for the future planning and design to better serve their local communities. viii Table of Contents Declaration....................................................................................................................... iii Statement of Contribution by others ................................................................................. v Abstract ............................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents............................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................ xiii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xv Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1 General introduction and literature review ......................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Arid and semi-arid land ..................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Regions and climate ...................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Features of plants in arid regions .................................................................. 3 1.2.2.1 Key plant groups of arid regions .............................................................. 3 1.2.2.2 Environmental factors responsible for dormancy break and germination .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Seed germination and dormancy ........................................................................ 5 1.3.1 Seed germination .......................................................................................... 5 1.3.2 Seed dormancy .............................................................................................. 8 1.3.3 Dormancy classification ............................................................................. 10 1.3.3.1 Physiological Dormancy ........................................................................ 11 1.3.3.2 Physical dormancy ................................................................................. 13 1.3.3.3 Combinational dormancy ....................................................................... 14 1.3.3.4 Morphological and morphophysiological dormancy ............................. 14 1.3.3.5 Dormancy key ........................................................................................ 15 1.4 The technical aspects of seed viability testing ................................................. 16 1.5 Enhancement of seed germination through priming in arid regions ................ 16 1.6 Conservation and restoration of plants in arid lands ........................................ 18 1.6.1 Botanic garden concept in plant conservation ............................................ 18 1.6.2 Botanic garden concept in land restoration ................................................