Factors affecting germination and establishment success of an endemic cactus of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Abstract

Seed and seedling are the most critical stages of cacti life cycle. From the thousands of seeds produced in a reproductive season, only a small fraction gets to germinate, the rest gets lost due to predation or gets potentially buried in the seed bank. These early stages depend on facilitation by nurse plants for germination and seedling recruitment. In this paper, we aim to describe some aspects of the recruitment of Cephalocereus polylophus. We tested the viability of seeds with different storage times as an indicator of their potential to form a short-term seed bank. Through the analysis of seed germination and seedlings survival under the canopy of two nurse plant species and open areas, we aimed to assess the importance of facilitation for recruitment. A predator exclusion experiment was used to evaluate the intensity of herbivory on seeds and seedlings of different developmental stages. Seeds had germination rates above 90%, even after two years of storage. Seed germination was only registered under one of the two nurses. After two years, up to 19% of the seedlings planted under both nurse plants survived. Protection against herbivores increased survival chances from 30 to 52 % for all age-group seedlings. Considering that facilitation is a crucial interaction for C. polylophus, future conservation programs should include the protection of plant communities.