Summary:
Climate change is expected to significantly affect (among others) the
reproductive biology of plants. The reproductive biology of plants includes all
stages of a species reproduction and is essential for the conservation and
management of plant diversity. In particular, the seed germination is an
extremely critical stage of the reproductive biology. However, relatively few
studies have been carried out on the impacts of climate change on the ecology
of seed germination.
The thesis was carried out in Cyprus, which lies at the eastern end of the
Mediterranean basin, where a total of eleven (11) plant species were selected
to be studied. The thesis aims to explore in depth the germination mechanisms
of these plants and to contribute to the knowledge of their reproductive
biology and conservation status. In addition, it studies the possible changes
in the demographics and the geographical distribution of these taxa, as a
result of the possible impacts of climate change in their germination behaviour.
The projections for the species distribution are based on germination data
combined with the projected temperature increase. The following trends are
expected:
– Maintainance of present distribution for the populations of two species
(Crocus cyprius and Salvia willeana).
– Reduction of the distribution towards higher altitudes for three species
(Cynoglossum troodi, Onosma troodi and Saponaria cypria.
– Expansion of distribution towards lower altitudes for five species (Acinos
troodi subsp. troodi, Allium exaltatum, Alyssum troodi, Astragalus echinus var.
chionistrae and Lactuca tetrantha).
For another species (Crypsis hadjikyriakou), the germination of its seeds was
not accomplished.
Keywords:
Seed germination, Endemic plants, Cyprus, Climate change, Conservation
