Seed Longevity of Five Tropical Species From South-Eastern Mexico: Changes in Seed Germination During Storage

To design conservation strategies, the extent of plant richness of tropical forests needs to be characterized in terms of their seed longevity. In this study, we examined the potential seed longevity, that is, storage ex situ, of species from south-eastern Mexico: Chamaedorea glaucifolia, Cymbopetalum baillonii, Magnolia mexicana, Nectandra coriacea, and Ternstroemia tepezapote. Immediately after collection, seeds were stored at different temperatures (≤23℃). We evaluated seed germination after different storage durations. Seed water content (WC) was determined for each period. Seed desiccation sensitivity was determined as WC 50 , which is the WC at which the initial seed viability decreases to 50%; further, the time required to reach WC 50 was also determined. Subsequently, we analyzed the relations between seed functional traits with other morphological and functional traits, along with the weather characteristics of their respective habitat. All of the studied species had short-lived seeds; they exhibited desiccation sensitivity after storage with differences across the species. Additionally, C. baillonii exhibited differences in seed desiccation sensitivity across 2 years of seed collection. Interaction was observed between storage time and storage temperature: Seeds exhibited less deterioration at 15℃ in C. glaucifolia and C. baillonii and at 5℃ in M. mexicana and N. coriacea. Seed storage behavior is discussed in this article. Finally, a relationship determined between germination traits, and seed WC, embryo size, endosperm amount, and rain and temperature patterns in the month of seed dispersal explained the limited longevity of the studied species.