Seed viability of alpine species: variability within and among years
Author
Chambers, J. C.Issue Date
1989-07-01Keywords
PolemoniumPotentilla
Rosaceae
calamagrostis purpurascens
artemisia scopulorum
geum rosii
polemonium viscosum
sibbaldia procumbens
potentilla diversifolia
alpine grasslands
Festuca idahoensis
Deschampsia cespitosa
seed set
seed longevity
viability
temporal variation
plant communities
Montana
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Chambers, J. C. (1989). Seed viability of alpine species: variability within and among years. Journal of Range Management, 42(4), 304-308.Publisher
Society for Range ManagementJournal
Journal of Range ManagementDOI
10.2307/3899499Additional Links
https://rangelands.org/Abstract
Percent of seeds filled for alpine grasses and seed viability and longevity for alpine grasses and forbs with different life history and physiological traits were evaluated for seeds collected in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986 on the Beartooth Plateau, Mont. Significant (p<0.001) differences existed in the percent of seeds filled for grass species and in the seed viability of both grass and forb species among years. The high variability in seed viability among years is attributed to the severe and unpredictable nature of the environment. Seed viability differed among species within most years. In general, grass species had lower and more variable seed viability than forb species. Low seed viability years for the grass species coincided with low seed fill years, indicating poor seed development. Longevity of seeds collected in 1983 varied among species and was related to seed characteristics and the overall life history and physiological traits of individual species. Seed longevity of species with life history and physiological traits typical of late seral species was shorter than that of species with traits typical of early seral species.Type
textArticle
Language
enISSN
0022-409Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2307/3899499