Shurong Ma , Weidong Xu , Qi Qi , Yun Li , Meiyu Shi , Shenkui Liu

Key Laboratory of Saline–alkali Vegetation Ecology Restoration in Oil Field (SAVER), Ministry of Education, Alkali Soil Natural Environmental Science Center (ASNESC), Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Soil Biology, 2018, Vol. 9, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/msb.2018.09.0001
Received: 27 Nov., 2018    Accepted: 04 Dec., 2018    Published: 29 Dec., 2018

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Ma S.R., Xu W.D., Qi Q., Li Y., Shi M.Y., and Liu S.K., 2018, Effects of environmental factors on seed germination of Salix linearistipularis, Molecular Soil Biology, 9(1): 1-9 (doi: 10.5376/msb.2018.09.0001)

The effects of soil moisture, temperature, storage condition, drought, and saline-alkali stress on seed germination of Salix linearistipularis were studied by simulating natural field conditions in the laboratory. (1) S. linearistipularis seeds demonstrate a fast water absorption rate, with a maximum absorbed amount of 200% within 30 min. (2) The seeds require accurate soil moisture and start to germinate when they contain sufficient water. The optimal soil moisture ranged from 100% to 200%, and the seeds did not germinate when the water content was lower than 25%. (3) The suitable temperature for seed germination ranged from 25°C to 30°C, but the process was inhibited when the temperature was lower than 15°C or higher than 35°C. (4) The seeds were short-lived with a germination rate of 3% in 45 d at room temperature. After storage at−80°C for 1 year, the seed germination rate remained 50% and (5) was significantly inhibited by saline-alkali and drought stresses. Low concentrations of NaHCO₃ solution can promote the growth of the seedlings and young roots of S. linearistipularis.

Salix linearistipularis; Seed germination; Temperature; Water stress; Saline-alkali stress