Abiotic and biotic drivers of seedling recruitment

Seedling recruitment and establishment are the crucial steps in the colonization of bare-ground. Nowhere else these processes can be monitored more impressively than in newly deglaciated areas of glacier forelands. In young moraines the abiotic constraints such as frost, heat and water deficiency may be the essential drivers of seed germination and colonization processes. Empirical studies of these factors in glacier forelands and experiments of their effects on alpine species recruitment are missing. Safe sites were already recognized as essential for germination of species also in alpine environments, though it was not analyzed if safe sites are also prerequisites for permanent establishment. The general knowledge about biotic drivers of germination and establishment in glacier forelands is rather limited. Interactions between seeds and seedlings, seedlings and established plants have to be assumed. Among the biotic drivers also mycorrhizal fungi may be essential for successful establishment. The proposed project aims to integrate population biological and eco-physiological methods in order to analyze seed ecology, seedling and juvenile stages of glacier foreland species in a comprehensive way. The effects of low and high temperatures and drought on seeds and seedlings, and the biotic interactions during germination and establishment will be studied using experiments in the field and in the growth chamber. The main question to be answered is how seeds - seedlings - juvenile plants can cope with extreme abiotic conditions and with their intra- and interspecific neighbourhood. Mycorrhizal colonization of the seedlings will be analyzed. The expected output includes basic knowledge about the ecology of colonization in high altitudes. Primary colonization and succession in the glacier foreland can be used as a model for regeneration of plant communities on naturally and anthropogenically disturbed sites.

Seedling recruitment and establishment are the crucial steps in the colonization of bare-ground. Nowhere else these processes can be monitored more impressively than in newly deglaciated areas of glacier forelands. In young moraines the abiotic constraints such as frost, heat and water deficiency may be the essential drivers of seed germination and colonization processes. Empirical studies of these factors in glacier forelands and experiments of their effects on alpine species recruitment are missing. Safe sites were already recognized as essential for germination of species also in alpine environments, though it was not analyzed if safe sites are also prerequisites for permanent establishment. The general knowledge about biotic drivers of germination and establishment in glacier forelands is rather limited. Interactions between seeds and seedlings, seedlings and established plants have to be assumed. Among the biotic drivers also mycorrhizal fungi may be essential for successful establishment. The proposed project aims to integrate population biological and eco-physiological methods in order to analyze seed ecology, seedling and juvenile stages of glacier foreland species in a comprehensive way. The effects of low and high temperatures and drought on seeds and seedlings, and the biotic interactions during germination and establishment will be studied using experiments in the field and in the growth chamber. The main question to be answered is how seeds - seedlings - juvenile plants can cope with extreme abiotic conditions and with their intra- and interspecific neighbourhood. Mycorrhizal colonization of the seedlings will be analyzed. The expected output includes basic knowledge about the ecology of colonization in high altitudes. Primary colonization and succession in the glacier foreland can be used as a model for regeneration of plant communities on naturally and anthropogenically disturbed sites.