Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis
The family Proteaceae dominates the nutrient-poor, Mediterranean-climate floristic regions of southwestern Australia (SWA) and the Cape of South Africa. It is well-recognised that mediterranean Proteaceae have comparatively large seeds that are enriched with phosphorus (P), stored mainly as salts of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2009
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29650 |
| _version_ | 1848752861534486528 |
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| author | Groom, Philip Lamont, Byron |
| author_facet | Groom, Philip Lamont, Byron |
| author_sort | Groom, Philip |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The family Proteaceae dominates the nutrient-poor, Mediterranean-climate floristic regions of southwestern Australia (SWA) and the Cape of South Africa. It is well-recognised that mediterranean Proteaceae have comparatively large seeds that are enriched with phosphorus (P), stored mainly as salts of phytic acid in protein globoids. Seed P can contribute up to 48% of the total aboveground P, with the fraction allocated depending on the species fire response. For SWA species, 70–80% of P allocated to fruiting structures is invested in seeds, compared with 30–75% for Cape species, with SWA species storing on average 4.7 times more P per seed at twice the concentration. When soil P is less limiting for growth, seed P reserves may be less important for seedling establishment, and hence plants there tend to produce smaller seeds with less P. For Australian Hakea and Grevillea species the translocation of P from the fruit wall to the seed occurs in the days/ weeks before final fruit dry mass is reached, and accounts for 4–36% of seed P. Seed P content increases with the level of serotiny, though it decreases marginally as a fraction of the total reproductive structure. The greater occurrence of serotiny and higher seed P content within the Proteaceae in SWA supports the notion that SWA soils are more P-impoverished than those of the Cape. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:15:21Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-29650 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:15:21Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-296502019-05-16T00:58:37Z Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis Groom, Philip Lamont, Byron The family Proteaceae dominates the nutrient-poor, Mediterranean-climate floristic regions of southwestern Australia (SWA) and the Cape of South Africa. It is well-recognised that mediterranean Proteaceae have comparatively large seeds that are enriched with phosphorus (P), stored mainly as salts of phytic acid in protein globoids. Seed P can contribute up to 48% of the total aboveground P, with the fraction allocated depending on the species fire response. For SWA species, 70–80% of P allocated to fruiting structures is invested in seeds, compared with 30–75% for Cape species, with SWA species storing on average 4.7 times more P per seed at twice the concentration. When soil P is less limiting for growth, seed P reserves may be less important for seedling establishment, and hence plants there tend to produce smaller seeds with less P. For Australian Hakea and Grevillea species the translocation of P from the fruit wall to the seed occurs in the days/ weeks before final fruit dry mass is reached, and accounts for 4–36% of seed P. Seed P content increases with the level of serotiny, though it decreases marginally as a fraction of the total reproductive structure. The greater occurrence of serotiny and higher seed P content within the Proteaceae in SWA supports the notion that SWA soils are more P-impoverished than those of the Cape. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29650 10.1007/s11104-009-0135-6 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Groom, Philip Lamont, Byron Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title | Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title_full | Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title_fullStr | Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title_short | Phosphorus accumulation in Proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| title_sort | phosphorus accumulation in proteaceae seeds: a synthesis |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29650 |