Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species

Seed bank survival underpins plant population persistence but studies on seed bank trait-environment interactions are few. Changes in environmental conditions relevant to seed banks occur in desert ecosystems owing to solar energy development. We developed a conceptual model of seed bank survival to...

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Main Authors: Rebecca R. Hernandez, Karen E. Tanner, Sophia Haji, Ingrid M. Parker, Bruce M. Pavlik, Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1125
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spelling doaj-c068e45863184176a9e62b0d2ed1fa442020-11-25T03:53:41ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472020-08-0191125112510.3390/plants9091125Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant SpeciesRebecca R. Hernandez0Karen E. Tanner1Sophia Haji2Ingrid M. Parker3Bruce M. Pavlik4Kara A. Moore-O’Leary5Department of Land, Air & Water Resources, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAEcology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAConservation Department, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 3020 State University Drive East, Sacramento, CA 95819, USASeed bank survival underpins plant population persistence but studies on seed bank trait-environment interactions are few. Changes in environmental conditions relevant to seed banks occur in desert ecosystems owing to solar energy development. We developed a conceptual model of seed bank survival to complement methodologies using in-situ seed bank packets. Using this framework, we quantified the seed bank survival of two closely related annual desert plant species, one rare (<i>Eriophyllum mohavense</i>) and one common (<i>Eriophyllum wallacei</i>), and the seed bank–environment interactions of these two species in the Mojave Desert within a system that emulates microhabitat variation associated with solar energy development. We tracked 4860 seeds buried across 540 seed packets and found, averaged across both species, that seed bank survival was 21% and 6% for the first and second growing seasons, respectively. After two growing seasons, the rare annual had a significantly greater seed bank survival (10%) than the common annual (2%). Seed bank survival across both species was significantly greater in shade (10%) microhabitats compared to runoff (5%) and control microhabitats (3%). Our study proffers insight into this early life-stage across rare and common congeners and their environmental interactions using a novel conceptual framework for seed bank survival.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1125disturbancedrylandsphotovoltaicplant communityplant traitsrare species
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Rebecca R. Hernandez
Karen E. Tanner
Sophia Haji
Ingrid M. Parker
Bruce M. Pavlik
Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
spellingShingle Rebecca R. Hernandez
Karen E. Tanner
Sophia Haji
Ingrid M. Parker
Bruce M. Pavlik
Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
Plants
disturbance
drylands
photovoltaic
plant community
plant traits
rare species
author_facet Rebecca R. Hernandez
Karen E. Tanner
Sophia Haji
Ingrid M. Parker
Bruce M. Pavlik
Kara A. Moore-O’Leary
author_sort Rebecca R. Hernandez
title Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
title_short Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
title_full Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
title_fullStr Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
title_full_unstemmed Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species
title_sort simulated photovoltaic solar panels alter the seed bank survival of two desert annual plant species
publisher MDPI AG
series Plants
issn 2223-7747
publishDate 2020-08-01
description Seed bank survival underpins plant population persistence but studies on seed bank trait-environment interactions are few. Changes in environmental conditions relevant to seed banks occur in desert ecosystems owing to solar energy development. We developed a conceptual model of seed bank survival to complement methodologies using in-situ seed bank packets. Using this framework, we quantified the seed bank survival of two closely related annual desert plant species, one rare (<i>Eriophyllum mohavense</i>) and one common (<i>Eriophyllum wallacei</i>), and the seed bank–environment interactions of these two species in the Mojave Desert within a system that emulates microhabitat variation associated with solar energy development. We tracked 4860 seeds buried across 540 seed packets and found, averaged across both species, that seed bank survival was 21% and 6% for the first and second growing seasons, respectively. After two growing seasons, the rare annual had a significantly greater seed bank survival (10%) than the common annual (2%). Seed bank survival across both species was significantly greater in shade (10%) microhabitats compared to runoff (5%) and control microhabitats (3%). Our study proffers insight into this early life-stage across rare and common congeners and their environmental interactions using a novel conceptual framework for seed bank survival.
topic disturbance
drylands
photovoltaic
plant community
plant traits
rare species
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1125
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