Seglias Alexandra E
Department of Research and Conservation Denver Botanic Gardens, 909 York Street Denver, Colorado 80206 USA.
Appl Plant Sci. 2022 Sep 30;10(5):e11493. doi: 10.1002/aps3.11493. eCollection 2022 Sep-Oct.
To conserve native plants, many institutions are turning toward ex-situ conservation methods, such as storage in seed banks; however, not all seeds are able to survive in seed bank conditions, or may not in the long term. Experimental aging has shown that alpine species lose viability more quickly than low-elevation species. Furthermore, the germination requirements for rare species are largely unknown, but are a necessary first step in understanding storage behavior and viability decline.
Five alpine species were subjected to germination and accelerated aging experiments to understand their longevity in storage. For the accelerated aging experiment, the seeds were rehydrated in a dark incubator and subsequently placed in a drying oven. Following the aging process, the seeds were placed into previously determined germination conditions.
All species had values of <13.7 days, which is the threshold to consider a species short lived. These results suggest that we cannot haphazardly store seeds and assume that all species will survive for decades.
Accelerated aging experiments are not a perfect measure of seed longevity, and true longevity needs to be empirically determined. However, this experimental method allows us to predict which species may be short lived and whether alternative ex-situ conservation methods might be needed beyond conventional seed banking.
为了保护本土植物，许多机构正转向迁地保护方法，如储存在种子库中；然而，并非所有种子都能在种子库条件下存活，或者从长远来看可能无法存活。实验老化表明，高山物种比低海拔物种更快丧失活力。此外，珍稀物种的萌发要求在很大程度上尚不清楚，但这是了解储存行为和活力下降的必要第一步。
对五种高山物种进行萌发和加速老化实验，以了解它们在储存中的寿命。在加速老化实验中，种子在黑暗培养箱中复水，随后放入干燥箱中。老化过程结束后，将种子置于预先确定的萌发条件下。
所有物种的 值均<13.7天，这是判定一个物种寿命短的阈值。这些结果表明，我们不能随意储存种子并假定所有物种都能存活数十年。
加速老化实验并非衡量种子寿命的完美方法，真正的寿命需要通过实验确定。然而，这种实验方法使我们能够预测哪些物种可能寿命短，以及除了传统的种子库之外是否可能需要其他迁地保护方法。
