Biodiv Sci ›› 2008, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (5): 509-515.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2008.07361

• Research Bulletins • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Fruiting characteristics and seed germination capacity of Abies fargesiiin Shennongjia Nature Reserve

Zou Li1,2, Li Qingmei3,*(), Xie Zongqiang1   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093
    2 Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049
    3 The Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091
  • Received:2007-12-03 Accepted:2008-07-03 Online:2008-09-20 Published:2008-09-20
  • Contact: Li Qingmei

Abstract:

We investigated cone traits of Abies fargesii including length, width, fresh weight, seed numbers per cone, and seed traits including length, width, thickness, seed mass and seed germination capacity. The results showed that the average length and width of the cone were 5.37 ± 0.75 cm and 3.01 ± 0.32 cm, respectively, and its fresh weight was 18.93 ± 6.06 g, the seed number per cone was 59-567. The length, width and thickness of seeds were 1.08-8.68 mm, 1.16-6.42 mm and 0.66-3.48 mm, respectively, and the thousand-seed mass was 7.30 g. One-way ANOVA revealed that fruiting characteristics were significantly different both within and between populations. The distribution pattern of frequency of seed numbers per cone differed in different populations. The seed germination rate, seed germination energy and seed germination speed were different among mother trees. The proportion of empty seeds was high, accounting for 75.79% of the total amount due to seed abortion.

Key words: fruiting characteristics, cone, seed, germination experiment, germination percentage, germination energy