Seed germination and seedling emergence measurements of Brazilian native species

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to present a survey of seed-producing Brazilian native species whose germination or emergence processes were evaluated by measurements of the dynamics of these processes (time, velocity, homogeneity, uncertainty and synchrony). The survey was restricted to publications from the 21st century. A total of 261 Brazilian species were surveyed, belonging to 52 families, with Fabaceae (50 spp.), Melastomataceae (29 spp.), Cactaceae (22 spp.), Bromeliaceae (17 spp.), Bignoniaceae (14 spp.), Malvaceae (13 spp.) and Asteraceae (11 spp.) as the most represented. The seeds of the surveyed species are very slow to fast and are also very asynchronous to very synchronous to germinate and emerge, which is compatible with the heterogeneity of the native species of the Brazilian flora. Seeds with very fast and very synchronous germination need smaller environmental windows to establish themselves than those with very slow and very asynchronous germination. Therefore, each environment, with its specific climate regime, must be carefully analyzed for the best choice of sowing season. This is important information to plan the conservation and management of native areas, as well as to restore or recover degraded areas.