The role of seed reproduction in the dynamics of established populations of Hieracium floribundum and a comparison with that of vegetative reproduction

Abstract

In the crowded parts of patches of Hieracium floribundum Wimm. and Grab., which were established for at least a decade in an ungrazed pasture, 7–10% of the population (3700 individuals/m²) flowered. Of the plants that flowered, 94% were alive a year later, but only 5% of these flowered. Abortion of flower heads was common; one half of all those which were initiated in early June had aborted by flowering time in early July. Freshly dispersed seed had a viability of 57%, which was reduced to 17% a year later, after its storage close to the soil surface. Less than 6% of the viable seed was innately dormant. Dry, laboratory-stored seed retained its viability for the year but was slower to germinate than soil-stored seed. In field conditions, germination was temperature inhibited during most of the growing season. Maximum daytime microsite temperatures of less than 32 °C, which is necessary for germination, were found to occur only in early spring and late fall. Successful seedling establishment accounts for 1% of the individuals in a crowded population. Based on the maximum sexual reproduction from plants in crowded populations, a seed has a probability of 1 in 20 000 of becoming an established seedling. A model of population dynamics in a high-density patch traces the fate of seedling establishment, surviving adults, and stolon-derived rosettes for a single year.