Pre-dispersal seed predation, soil seed banks and germination of seeds of Albizia harveyi E. Fourn. from Northern Botswana: implication for its conservation
Paper Details
Pre-dispersal seed predation, soil seed banks and germination of seeds of Albizia harveyi E. Fourn. from Northern Botswana: implication for its conservation
Abstract
Albizia harveyi is a tree species, which provides various goods and services. The species is facing challenges due to pre-dispersal predation, and information on the soil seed banks and requirements for the germination of seeds of the species is lacking. Also, knowledge on its natural regeneration ecology is poor. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to assess pre-dispersal seed predation, determine the soil seed density and distribution, and test the effects of different pre-sowing treatments on the germination of seeds of Albizia harveyi. The results showed that of all the seeds recovered from pods, 25% were eaten, indicating that a quarter of the seeds were predated before dispersal. Also, the mean proportion of filled seeds, which sunk during the floating experiment, was only 79 ± 0.84%, suggesting that the other batch (21 ± 0.84%) was composed of empty seeds. The highest (79 ± 4.4%) and lowest (32 ± 4%) germination capacities were exhibited by seeds treated with mechanical scarification and five minutes in boiling water, respectively. These results suggest a hard seed coat-imposed seed dormancy. The speed of germination was faster in seeds treated with sulphuric acid and those scarified manually. The soil seed density was 153 seeds m-2 down to 9 cm in the soil. Vertically seeds were restricted in the litter layer while horizontally they were recovered only under the canopies of the three out of the six trees. Further topics for research on the species have been proposed.
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Demel Teketay, Joseph Madome, Keotshepile Kashe (2018), Pre-dispersal seed predation, soil seed banks and germination of seeds of Albizia harveyi E. Fourn. from Northern Botswana: implication for its conservation; JBES, V12, N6, June, P57-66
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