How long does it take for different seeds to dry?

Hill, James, Edwards, Will, and Franks, Peter J. (2010) How long does it take for different seeds to dry? Functional Plant Biology, 37 (6). pp. 575-583.

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View at Publisher Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/FP09210
 
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Abstract

Reduction in rainfall and intensification of dry season moisture deficit threaten to expose desiccation-sensitive seeds in the seasonal tropics to greater potential negative effects of desiccation. A determinate affecting the recruitment of species under increased aridity is how quickly desiccation-sensitive seeds dehydrate. We investigated the rate of seed moisture loss in 24 species that produce desiccation-sensitive seeds in a seasonal tropical forest and tested the common hypothesis that seeds conform to a simple negative exponential model of moisture loss with time. A negative exponential model described moisture loss in 14 species, but was not the best model for the remaining 10 species. Moisture loss in eight species was best described by a double-negative exponential model and by a double-linear model in the remaining two species. We then tested the hypothesis that seed mass could predict the rate of desiccation between and within species. Within species the time to a given state of desiccation could be predicted by seed mass for eight species. Between species there was no relationship between desiccation rate and seed mass. We conclude that different modes of water loss and seed structural features may be more important than seed mass in prolonging desiccation.

Item ID: 15096
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1445-4416
Keywords: climate change, desiccation-sensitive seed, seed desiccation rate, seed ecology, seed mass, tropical forest
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A version of this publication was included as Chapter 4 of the following PhD thesis: Hill, James (2016) The effects of changing climates on seed production and seed viability on tropical plant species. PhD thesis, James Cook University, which is available Open Access in ResearchOnline@JCU. Please see the Related URLs for access.

Date Deposited: 16 Dec 2010 06:42
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0607 Plant Biology > 060705 Plant Physiology @ 70%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0699 Other Biological Sciences > 069902 Global Change Biology @ 30%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960305 Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change @ 50%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 50%
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