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Seed Germination and Seedling Establishment in Pistacia atlantica Desf. and Pistacia lentiscus L. under Drought

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Abstract

The rehabilitation of degraded Mediterranean areas requires reintroduction of key-stone woody species. However, seed germination and seedling establishment for native species are poor. Germination behavior of Pistacia atlantica Desf. and Pistacia lentiscus L. in response to temperature (15, 20, 25 and 30°C), salinity (0, 10, 25 and 50 mM NaCl) and scarification (seeds with/without pulp) were analyzed. The response of seedling establishment to water deficit was related to soil moisture at 100 and 50% of the field capacity. Scarification facilitated germination while salinity should not exceed 50 mM NaCl and temperature must be between 20 and 25°C for P. lentiscus and 25°C for P. atlantica. In P. atlantica, seedling establishment was susceptible to water deficit and it showed high-water requirement. The survival of stressed P. atlantica seedlings are attributed to the reduction in stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation and shoot growth, and acceleration of old leaf senescence and root growth. The divergence within both species in seed germination, carbon assimilation, growth and biomass allocation are interpreted as a plasticity response, indicating a specialization to either original or resource habitats. For this reason, in reforestation programs, poor performance of planted seedlings is also associated with soil water deficit.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the technical staff of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology at the Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa (Tunisia) who carried out the experiments on the seeds.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the bilateral Tunisian-French project PHC-(12/G0910) managed by the CMCU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa, 2112, Sidi Ahmed Zarroug, Tunisia

    E. Lefi & E. Saidi

  2. Laboratory of Extremophile Plants, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, B.P. 901, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    E. Lefi, M. Badri & C. Abdelly

  3. U.R. Plant Biodiversity and Ecosystems in Arid Environments, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia

    S. Ben Hamed & M. Chaieb

  4. Plant Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

    N. Ludidi

  5. DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

    N. Ludidi

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  1. E. Lefi
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Correspondence to M. Badri.

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Abbreviations: G—percentage of seed germination; D—dormant seeds; FC—field capacity; gs—stomatal conductance; A—net photosynthesis rate; E—rate of transpiration; A/E—ratio of photosynthesis and transpiration; RWC—relative water content; LA—leaf area; RL—root length; RM—roots mass; SM—shoots dry mass; SM/RM—ratio between shoots dry mass and roots mass.

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Lefi, E., Ben Hamed, S., Badri, M. et al. Seed Germination and Seedling Establishment in Pistacia atlantica Desf. and Pistacia lentiscus L. under Drought. Russ J Plant Physiol 70, 41 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1021443722602920

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