Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?

Seed dormancy can present a significant barrier to restoration outcomes in dryland systems. Physical and combinational (physical + physiological) dormancy are prevalent among seeds of many herbaceous perennials used in restoration of drylands throughout the western United States. Although many techn...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kildisheva, O., Erickson, T., Merritt, David, Madsen, M., Dixon, Kingsley, Vargas, J., Amarteifio, R., Kramer, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Society for Range Management 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66825
_version_ 1848761402804666368
author Kildisheva, O.
Erickson, T.
Merritt, David
Madsen, M.
Dixon, Kingsley
Vargas, J.
Amarteifio, R.
Kramer, A.
author_facet Kildisheva, O.
Erickson, T.
Merritt, David
Madsen, M.
Dixon, Kingsley
Vargas, J.
Amarteifio, R.
Kramer, A.
author_sort Kildisheva, O.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Seed dormancy can present a significant barrier to restoration outcomes in dryland systems. Physical and combinational (physical + physiological) dormancy are prevalent among seeds of many herbaceous perennials used in restoration of drylands throughout the western United States. Although many techniques designed to alleviate these dormancy traits exist, their efficacy is species specific, may result in embryo damage, and may have limited large-scale application. To identify the most effective means of dormancy alleviation with the potential to be used on an operational scale, we examined the effects of 16 temperature-based techniques (altering temperature and duration of wet heat, freezing and wet heat, and freeze-thaw cycles) and 6 abrasion-based techniques (altering pneumatic scarification length or using a single duration of manual scarification) on the enhancement of seed permeability among two physically dormant (western prairie clover [Dalea ornata {Douglas} Eaton & Wright] and Munro's globemallow [Sphaeralcea munroana {Douglas} Spach] ) and two combinationally dormant species (basalt milkvetch [Astragalus filipes Torr. ex A. Gray] and longspur lupine [Lupinus arbustus {Douglas} ex Lindl.] ). We first assessed seed imbibition following exposure to all temperature- and abrasion-based techniques to identify those most successful at promoting seed permeability and then evaluated the effectiveness of those techniques through a series of germination experiments. For combinationally dormant species, we also tested whether exposure to GA 3 enhanced germination. Abrasion-based techniques were more effective than temperature-based techniques at improving water uptake across all species. Pneumatic scarification significantly improved germination, but optimal treatment durations were species specific. GA 3 did not enhance germination under the tested conditions. We conclude that pneumatic scarification is a fast, safe, and effective method for alleviating physical seed dormancy with a potential to be scaled up for operational use in restoration.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:31:06Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-66825
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:31:06Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Society for Range Management
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-668252018-07-25T00:56:29Z Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials? Kildisheva, O. Erickson, T. Merritt, David Madsen, M. Dixon, Kingsley Vargas, J. Amarteifio, R. Kramer, A. Seed dormancy can present a significant barrier to restoration outcomes in dryland systems. Physical and combinational (physical + physiological) dormancy are prevalent among seeds of many herbaceous perennials used in restoration of drylands throughout the western United States. Although many techniques designed to alleviate these dormancy traits exist, their efficacy is species specific, may result in embryo damage, and may have limited large-scale application. To identify the most effective means of dormancy alleviation with the potential to be used on an operational scale, we examined the effects of 16 temperature-based techniques (altering temperature and duration of wet heat, freezing and wet heat, and freeze-thaw cycles) and 6 abrasion-based techniques (altering pneumatic scarification length or using a single duration of manual scarification) on the enhancement of seed permeability among two physically dormant (western prairie clover [Dalea ornata {Douglas} Eaton & Wright] and Munro's globemallow [Sphaeralcea munroana {Douglas} Spach] ) and two combinationally dormant species (basalt milkvetch [Astragalus filipes Torr. ex A. Gray] and longspur lupine [Lupinus arbustus {Douglas} ex Lindl.] ). We first assessed seed imbibition following exposure to all temperature- and abrasion-based techniques to identify those most successful at promoting seed permeability and then evaluated the effectiveness of those techniques through a series of germination experiments. For combinationally dormant species, we also tested whether exposure to GA 3 enhanced germination. Abrasion-based techniques were more effective than temperature-based techniques at improving water uptake across all species. Pneumatic scarification significantly improved germination, but optimal treatment durations were species specific. GA 3 did not enhance germination under the tested conditions. We conclude that pneumatic scarification is a fast, safe, and effective method for alleviating physical seed dormancy with a potential to be scaled up for operational use in restoration. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66825 10.1016/j.rama.2018.02.004 Society for Range Management restricted
spellingShingle Kildisheva, O.
Erickson, T.
Merritt, David
Madsen, M.
Dixon, Kingsley
Vargas, J.
Amarteifio, R.
Kramer, A.
Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title_full Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title_fullStr Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title_full_unstemmed Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title_short Do Abrasion- or Temperature-Based Techniques More Effectively Relieve Physical Dormancy in Seeds of Cold Desert Perennials?
title_sort do abrasion- or temperature-based techniques more effectively relieve physical dormancy in seeds of cold desert perennials?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66825