Summary
Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., Chenopodium album L., and Amaranthus retroflexus L. are three summer annual weeds that occur in disturbed habitats. In nature, the peak germination season for A. artemisiifolia and C. album is in early to mid-spring, while in A. retroflexus the peak germination season is late spring to early summer. Furthermore, seeds of A. artemisiifolia germinate only in spring, while seeds of C. album and A. retroflexus germinate throughout the summer. In an attempt to explain the differential germination behavior of these three species in nature, changes in their germination responses to temperature during burial in a non-heated greenhouse from October 1974 to October 1975 were monitored. A high percentage of the seeds of all three species after-ripened during winter. Seeds of A. artemisiifolia and C. album germinated at temperatures characteristic of those in the field in early and mid-spring, but seeds of A. retroflexus required the higher temperatures of late spring and early summer for germination. Seeds of all three species germinated to higher percentages in light than in darkness. Non-dormant seeds of A. artemisiifolia that did not germinate in spring entered secondary dormancy. On the other hand, seeds of C. album and A. retroflexus that did not germinate when temperatures first became favorable for germination, did not enter secondary dormancy and, thus, retained the ability to germinate at summer field temperatures during summer. Thus, temporal differences in the germination behavior of these three species are caused by the differential reaction of the seeds to temperature during the annual temperature cycle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bazzaz, F.A.: Secondary dormancy in the seeds of the common ragweed Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Bull. Torrey Bot. Clumb 97, 302–305 (1970)
Bibbey, R.O.: The influence of environment upon the germination of weed seeds. Sci. Agri. 16, 141–150 (1935)
Chepil, W.S.: Germination of weed seeds: I. Longevity, periodicity of germination, and vitality of seeds in cultivated soil. Sci. Agri. 26, 307–346 (1946a)
Chepil, W.S.: Germination of weed seeds: II. The influence of tillage treatments on germination. Sci. Agri. 26, 347–357 (1946b)
Gebben, A.I.: The ecology of common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., in southeastern Michigan. Ph. D. dissertation. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan (1965)
Kadman-Zahavi, A.: Effects of short and continuous illuminations on the germination of Amaranthus retroflexus seeds. Israel J. Bot. 9D, 1–20 (1960)
Karssen, C.M.: The light promoted germination of the seeds of Chenopodium album L. I. The influence of the incubation time on quantity and rate of the response to red light. Acta Bot. Neerl. 16, 156–160 (1967)
McWilliams, E.L., Landers, R.Q., Mahlstede, J.P.: Variation in seed weight and germination in populations of Amaranthus retroflexus L. Ecology 49, 290–296 (1968)
Reed, C.F.: Common weeds of the United States. Prepared by the agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. New York: Dover 1971
Roberts, H.A., Dawkins, P.A.: Effect of cultivation of the numbers of viable weed seeds in soil. Weed Res 7, 290–301 (1967)
Roberts, H.A., Feast, P.M.: Seasonal distribution of emergence in some annual weeds. Exp. Hort. 21, 36–41 (1970)
Stoller, E.W., Wax, L.M.: Periodicity of germination and emergence of some annual weeds. Weed Sci. 21, 574–580 (1973)
Willemsen, R.W.: Dormancy and germination of common ragweed seeds in the field. Amer. J. Bot. 62, 638–643 (1975)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baskin, J.M., Baskin, C.C. Role of temperature in the germination ecology of three summer annual weeds. Oecologia 30, 377–382 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00399768
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00399768