Litter accumulation resulting from land use change (enclosure) is one of the key variables influencing seedling recruitment and consequently the regeneration of plant populations and seed persistence in the soil seed bank. A better understanding of the effects of litter on seed germination and seedling emergence is crucial for developing a new set of indicators for grassland ecosystem health an...

this experiment was conducted to investigate the genetic diversity, relationship between morphological, agronomic and qualitative traits and to identify components of forage yield using some multivariate statistical methods in local sainfoin populations. the experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with four replications in isfahan university of technology research farm. res...

Reduced recruitment of blue oak (Quercus douglasii) seedlings in California grasslands and woodlands may result from shifts in seasonal soil water availability coincident with replacement of the native perennial herbaceous community by Mediterranean annuals. We used a combination of container and field experiments to examine the interrelationships between soil water potential, herbaceous neighb...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS A meta-analysis of global change experiments in arctic tundra sites suggests that plant productivity and the cover of shrubs, grasses and dead plant material (i.e. litter) will increase and the cover of bryophytes will decrease in response to higher air temperatures. However, little is known about which effects these changes in vegetation structure will have on seedling recr...

Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars carrying the sh2 mutation show poor seed vigor under stressful field conditions, requiring higher seeding rates to ensure stand establishment. The effects of sodium hypochlorite seed disinfestation, solid matrix priming (SMP), and seed-coating with Gliocladium virens Miller, Giddens & Foster to enhance emergence of sh2 sweet corn in controlled-environment cold...

salinity is one of the environmental factors that have a critical influence on the plant emergence and plant growth and establishment. the determination of salinity tolerance threshold is a useful criterion to choose soil and irrigation water for cultivation of halophytes. in order to determine salinity tolerance threshold in amaranthus retrofelexus, an experiment was performed in greenhouse ba...

The resistance encountered by a seedling as it pushes through the soil causes inhibition of stem elongation and stimulates stem thickening, facilitating soil penetration. A new study demonstrates that two proteolytic pathways work in double-negative fashion - one targeting the other - to protect transcription factors central to this response.

almolookhiyeh (corchorus olitorius l.) known in the world as a valuable medicinal plant that was produced for the first time in iran in 2011. this study was aimed to quantify germination response of almolookhiyeh to temperature. for this purpose, seeds were exposed to different constant temperatures (10 ,15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50°c) in seed research lab, gorgan university of agricultura...

Proliferation of woody plants in grasslands and savannas since the 1800s has been widely documented. In the southwestern United States, increased abundance of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa) has been attributed to heavy grazing by livestock. Here, we test the hypothesis that P. glandulosa invasion of grasslands requires, first, reductions in herbaceous biomass and density s...