Entries by Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

Review: Dry architecture: towards the understanding of the variation of longevity in desiccation- tolerant germplasm ($) (Seed Sci. Res.)

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Most seeds, pollen grains, and fern spores are desiccation-tolerant, meaning they remain viable after drying to low water contents. Given this property, they can be stored in cold and dry conditions and potentially remain alive for several years. However, there is increasing evidence that seed longevity in storage conditions might be much shorter than initially […]

Review: The pleurogram, an under-investigated functional trait in seeds (Ann. Bot.)

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The pleurogram is a depression on both sides of the seeds of some Fabaceae species. Surprisingly, although it is recognized as a specialized structure, little is known about its anatomical features or biological role. In this review, Rodrigues-Junior et al. synthesize the current knowledge about the structure and function of the pleurogram. The pleurogram is […]

Review: Trade‐off between seed dispersal in space and time (Ecol. Lett.)

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Seeds can be dispersed in space (i.e., away from their mother plants) or time (i.e., delayed germination via seed dormancy or persistent soil seed banks). These contrasting strategies have traditionally been considered to increase reproductive success, but our understanding of their relationship is limited to a few study cases. Here, Chen et al. provide the […]

Do regeneration traits vary according to vegetation structure? A case study for savannas ($) (J. Veg. Sci.)

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Regeneration traits –such as germination strategies, seed dormancy, and seedling establishment– are presumably shaped by environmental variables that operate at different temporal and spatial scales. However, empirical evidence about the variation is lacking for most regeneration seed traits. Here, Escobar et al. tested if seed-based regeneration traits varied between two vegetation habitats with contrasting environmental […]

The process of seed maturation is influenced by mechanical constraints (New Phytol.)

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Developing organs need to sense their surroundings to modulate their growth. In the case of embryos, their development is physically limited by the embryo sac; thus, they must assess the space they have available for growing and modulate their growth accordingly. In this paper, Rolletschek et al. report for the first time first that embryos […]

Review: Extending Plant Defense Theory to Seeds (Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst.) ($)

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Plants have developed multiple mechanisms to deal with the natural enemies they encounter through their life. In consequence, the Plant Defense Theory has arisen to assess how plants allocate resources to this purpose. However, much of the efforts in this matter has revolved around the defense that occurs in saplings and adult plants. In this […]

Seed predation selects for reproductive variability and synchrony in perennial plants (New Phytol.) ($)

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Instead of regularly flowering and fruiting each year, some long-lived species exhibit annually variable reproduction events. This phenomenon, known as masting, is considered an adaptation to reduce the losses from seed predation: in years of high reproduction, seeds are so abundant that predators become satiated well before consuming all seeds, while in low production years, […]

Limited evidence for a consistent seed mass-dispersal trade-off in wind dispersed pines (J. Ecol.) ($)

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The dispersal capacity of wind-dispersed seeds is expected to be shaped by seed mass, with lighter seeds dispersed further due to low terminal velocity (i.e., maximum velocity while falling). However, this relationship has been mostly tested comparing species from different taxonomic groups, rather than within particular taxa or species. In this paper, Wyse and Hulme […]

Among-population variation in seed mass for 190 Tibetan plant species: Phylogenetic pattern and ecological correlates (Glob. Ecol. Conserv.)

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Seed mass is a central trait in plant life history that impacts on seed production, germination, and establishment. Several studies have documented the variation in seed mass between species, but little is known about its variation among populations of the same species. In this paper, Zhang et al. tested the relationship between Among-Population Variation in […]