Modelling the emergence response of weed seeds to burial depth: interactions with seed density, weight and shape.
Abstract
Weeds play an important role in arable and horticultural habitats, and models are being developed to improve our understanding of their population dynamics. The position of a weed seed in the soil profile influences the probability of a seed germinating, emerging successfully and its relative time of emergence. Identifying a relationship between the shape or weight of a seed and its ability to emerge from depth may allow the development of generic models. The aim of this study was to quantify seed response to burial depth, to improve the wider application of existing seedling emergence models. A field experiment used weed seeds sown at different depths and densities in a standard substrate. In addition, two laboratory studies used pre-germinated seeds of the same range of species, buried at a range of depths in optimum conditions using the same substrate. These studies explored the effects of seed size, shape and sowing density on seedling emergence and also enabled reserve-dependent pre-emergence mortality to be quantified. The largest and heaviest of the seeds tested overall, Veronica hederifolia, emerged from the greatest depth (8 cm). In contrast, Tripleurospermum inodorum and Veronica arvensis, the two smallest species, showed a sharp decline when burial exceeded 1 cm. However, the link between seed shape or weight and the ability to emerge from depth suggests a complex relationship. Given optimum conditions, some species (Stellaria media and Chenopodium album) have the physical reserves to emerge from a wider range of burial depths than normally observed in the field, suggesting an ability to exploit opportunities when they occur. For some species, emergence was reduced at high seed densities (e.g. Veronica arvensis). These responses may be associated with traits that have evolved to counteract sibling competition. Synthesis and applications. Generic models identifying the maximum depths for seed germination and emergence have a number of practical applications. For example, they can be used to target cultivation to deplete the weed seed bank or to prescribe the optimum depth of mulches to favour certain species. Our model showed that, in general, larger-seeded species emerged from deeper in the soil, but the relationship between seed size and shape and emergence was complex, possibly species specific. Our germination data may also assist our understanding of the relative importance of different causes of seed losses, particularly from different zones of the soil profile, such as the soil surface. Understanding the component processes of seed behaviour and germination is essential to developing sustainable weed management practices in agriculture and horticulture, and the work reported here contributes to a larger programme modelling weed seed bank population dynamics.