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Bulletin of Botanical Research ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (5): 711-719.doi: 10.7525/j.issn.1673-5102.2023.05.008

• Physiology and Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Seed Rain of Critically Endangered Plant Abies beshanzuensis

Yougui WU1, Zhicheng ZHU1, Qianqian WU2, Huanman CAI1, Dingyun CHEN1   

  1. 1.Qingyuan Conservation Center of Qianjiangyuan-Baishanzu National Park,Qingyuan 323800
    2.Zhejiang Yueqing City Agricultural and Rural Bureau,Yueqing 325600
  • Received:2023-07-15 Online:2023-09-20 Published:2023-09-05
  • About author:WU Yougui(1970—),male,senior engineer,mainly engaged in biodiversity conservation and nature reserves.
  • Supported by:
    Baishanzu National Park Scientific Research Project(2021ZDZX04)

Abstract:

Abies beshanzuensis is a critically endangered plant endemic species in Baishanzu Mountain, Zhejiang Province, and only three mother trees are remained, one is scattered, and the other two grow adjacent to the north and south. In order to understand the spatial-temporal pattern of the seed rain of A. beshanzuensis, 33 seed collection frames were set up to collect the seeds produced in 2017 and 2019 once every half month. The results showed that: (1)From December 16th, 2017 to February 28th, 2018, 1 093 seeds from the scattered tree and 1 020 seeds from two adjacent trees were collected using six times, while from November 31th, 2019 to January 16th, 2020, 341 seeds from scattered tree and 165 seeds from the adjacent north tree were collected using four times. (2)The fresh weight of 1 000 seeds of A. beshanzuensis varied greatly, with the minimum of two adjacent trees seeds in 2017(25.87 g) and the maximum of the adjacent north tree seeds in 2019(39.21 g). The maximum length, width and thickness of the seeds were 14.5, 6.8 and 4.1 mm respectively, and the maximum length and width of the seed wings were 16.4 and 13.7 mm respectively. Both seed plumpness rate and 1 000-seed mass showed a trend of “decreasing first and then increasing”. The seed wing, seed plumpness, and seed fresh weight were larger in the north direction, whereas those in the south direction were smaller. There was no obvious pattern between seed characters and the distance from the collection frames. (3)In 2017, there were two peaks of seed rain, and the seeds collected in the first two times were about 80% of the total. However, in 2019, there was only one peak of seed rain, and the seeds collected for the first time were about 80% of the total. After the peak, the number of seeds collected decreased significantly. There was a phenomenon of “secondary seed drop”, which prolonged the drop time of seeds. (4) The number of seeds collected decreased with the increases of the distance from the collection frame to the mother tree, 98% of seeds fell within 10 m from the mother tree. Only four seeds were collected in the 30 m frames. (5) The number of seeds collected from the west was the largest, which might be related to the lower terrain in the west direction.

Key words: Abies baishanzuensis, seed rain, seed characters, critically endangered

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