Effects of fire products on soil seed bank germination of Conringia orientalis and Stipa haussknechtii in semi-steppe rangelands

Fire products (heat, smoke, and ash) stimulate germination in a lot of plant species. However, little information is available on the effects of fire products on germination of seeds of plant species in the seed bank of the semi-steppe rangelands. This study aimed to investigate the fire products on density seeds of soil seed bank in Semi-Steppe rangelands. A stratified random sampling was used to collect soil samples of Karsank region in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. A stratified random sampling was used to collect soil samples of the studied region and treatments with fire products were applied to them. Four treatments including heat shock, one treatment ash and controltreatments (without any treatment) were tested. Overall, two species of Conringia orientalis and Stipa haussknechtii had the highest germination densities in the seed bank. The germination percentage of Conringia orientalis increased following 80 °C heat treatment with average germinating seeds of 304 seeds per m2 in comparison with the control. Also, in Stipa haussknechtii, 80 °C heat treatment increased germination density, but this increase was not significant. Treatment of 80 °C heat treatment has the greatest effect on the germination density of these two species in the soil seed bank of the region. This is due to the fact that these two species, such as most plant species in the semi-steppe regions of the country have physiological dormancy. Accordingly, suitable heat treatments can be used to increase the germination density of Stipa haussknechtii and to improve and restore the rangelands.

Keywords:

Fire products , heat , density , Semi-Steppe , restoration