ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.

Sec. Functional Plant Ecology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1598379

Divergent germination strategies of Phragmites australis seeds for tidal flat gradient adaptation and the implications for coastal wetland restoration

Provisionally accepted
Jing  JiaJing Jia1Peng  JiaPeng Jia2Caifen  YuCaifen Yu2Dezhi  LiDezhi Li1*Jiangtao  WangJiangtao Wang1Ying  WangYing Wang1Jing  ChenJing Chen1
  • 1East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
  • 2National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Phragmites australis, capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction, was widely distributed along tidal flat gradients in Chongming Dongtan wetlands, eastern China. To assess maternal effects, seeds from different tidal flat habitats were collected, and the impacts of soil properties, storage temperature, and salinity on germination were examined. At 1.5% salinity, germination rates ranged from 1.3% to 7.7%. When salinity increased to 2.0%, germination rates declined sharply—by 94.3% (L), 96.5% (IN), 100% (M), and 99.2% (H) compared to controls. Higher salinity also slowed germination speed and reduced the germination index.Low-temperature storage (4 °C) significantly enhanced germination rates and potentials, particularly for the low-tidal flat population (L), compared to room temperature (20 °C). Soil salinity and water content were key factors affecting germination after 4 °C storage, while phosphorus levels positively correlated with germination performance. In contrast, room temperature storage more strongly influenced germination speed and index.Structural equation modeling (SEM) explained 74% and 50% of germination variation under 4 °C and room temperature storage, respectively. The tidal level had a stronger direct negative effect on germination at 4 °C (-0.97) than at 20 °C (-0.16). Both storage temperatures and tidal flat origins directly improved germination traits, whereas soil N/P indirectly enhanced germination only at 4 °C.These findings suggest that post-ripening (low-temperature storage) differentially enhances P. australis seed germination across tidal flat gradients in a subtropical salt marsh, demonstrating maternal effect adaptation. Thus, using seeds from natural tidal flat gradients could be an effective and economical approach for population restoration.

Keywords: Germination strategy, soil properties, Salinity, Seed storage temperature, Ecological restoraiton

Received: 23 Mar 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Jia, Jia, Yu, Li, Wang, Wang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dezhi Li, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

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