TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Benete Jessen
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Baltora, S.
A1  - De Schrijver, A.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Dhondt, Rob
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Gruwez, R.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Liira, J.
A1  - Saguez, R.
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Baskin, Carol C.
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - A latitudinal gradient in seed nutrients of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa
JF  - Plant biology
N2  - The nutrient concentration in seeds determines many aspects of potential success of the sexual reproductive phase of plants, including the seed predation probability, efficiency of seed dispersal and seedling performance. Despite considerable research interest in latitudinal gradients of foliar nutrients, a similar gradient for seeds remains unexplored. We investigated a potential latitudinal gradient in seed nutrient concentrations within the widespread European understorey forest herb Anemone nemorosa L. We sampled seeds of A. nemorosa in 15 populations along a 1900-km long latitudinal gradient at three to seven seed collection dates post-anthesis and investigated the relative effects of growing degree-hours > 5 degrees C, soil characteristics and latitude on seed nutrient concentrations. Seed nitrogen, nitrogen:phosphorus ratio and calcium concentration decreased towards northern latitudes, while carbon:nitrogen ratios increased. When taking differences in growing degree-hours and measured soil characteristics into account and only considering the most mature seeds, the latitudinal decline remained particularly significant for seed nitrogen concentration. We argue that the decline in seed nitrogen concentration can be attributed to northward decreasing seed provisioning due to lower soil nitrogen availability or greater investment in clonal reproduction. This pattern may have large implications for the reproductive performance of this forest herb as the degree of seed provisioning ultimately co-determines seedling survival and reproductive success.
KW  - Collection date
KW  - latitude
KW  - nutrient stoichiometry
KW  - seed nitrogen
KW  - seed predation
KW  - seed provisioning
KW  - sexual reproduction
KW  - wood anemone
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00404.x
SN  - 1435-8603
VL  - 13
IS  - 3
SP  - 493
EP  - 501
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Malden
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - De Backer, L.
A1  - Decocq, G.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Naaf, T.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Selvi, F.
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, M.
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Impacts of warming and changes in precipitation frequency on the regeneration of two Acer species
JF  - Flora : morphology, distribution, functional ecology of plants
KW  - Seed provenance
KW  - Germination
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Interactive effects
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2015.05.005
SN  - 0367-2530
SN  - 1618-0585
VL  - 214
SP  - 24
EP  - 33
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - De Backer, L.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Graae, B. J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Naaf, T.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Selvi, F.
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Latitudinal variation in seeds characteristics of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Climate change will likely affect population dynamics of numerous plant species by modifying several aspects of the life cycle. Because plant regeneration from seeds may be particularly vulnerable, here we assess the possible effects of climate change on seed characteristics and present an integrated analysis of seven seed traits (nutrient concentrations, samara mass, seed mass, wing length, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass) of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus seeds collected along a wide latitudinal gradient from Italy to Norway. Seed traits were analyzed in relation to the environmental conditions experienced by the mother trees along the latitudinal gradient. We found that seed traits of A. platanoides were more influenced by the climatic conditions than those of A. pseudoplatanus. Additionally, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass of A. platanoides were strongly related to the seed mass and nutrient concentration. While A. platanoides seeds were more influenced by the environmental conditions (generally negatively affected by rising temperatures), compared to A. pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides still showed higher germination percentage and seedling biomass than A. pseudoplatanus. Thus, further research on subsequent life-history stages of both species is needed. The variation in seed quality observed along the climatic gradient highlights the importance of studying the possible impact of climate change on seed production and species demography.
KW  - Acer platanoides
KW  - Acer pseudoplatanus
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Seed traits
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0343-x
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 215
IS  - 8
SP  - 911
EP  - 925
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  -