Influential neighbours: Seeds of dominant species affect the germination of common grassland species

摘要

Questions Germination is a prerequisite of successful establishment in plant communities and is influenced by many factors. Therefore, seeds are under strong selective pressure to sense and integrate information about their environment and modulate germination based on it. In this study, we focus on interspecific seed-seed interactions under optimal and suboptimal conditions to test three hypotheses: (H1) dominant species' seeds and emerging seedlings are most likely to be recognised by neighbouring seeds and exert a significant effect on the germination of common subordinate species; (H2) taxonomically related species are expected to exert stronger influence than unrelated species on the germination of neighbouring seeds; and (H3) facilitative interactions are more likely to occur under suboptimal conditions (drought stress) in the seed-seed interactions.