Seed germination and seedling establishment in pistacia atlantica desf. and pistacia lentiscus l. under drought

Abstract

The rehabilitation of degraded Mediterranean areas requires reintroduction of key-stone woody species. However, seed germination and seedling establishment for native species are poor. Germination behavior of Pistacia atlantica Desf. and Pistacia lentiscus L. in response to temperature (15, 20, 25 and 30°C), salinity (0, 10, 25 and 50 mM NaCl) and scarification (seeds with/without pulp) were analyzed. The response of seedling establishment to water deficit was related to soil moisture at 100 and 50% of the field capacity. Scarification facilitated germination while salinity should not exceed 50 mM NaCl and temperature must be between 20 and 25°C for P. lentiscus and 25°C for P. atlantica. In P. atlantica, seedling establishment was susceptible to water deficit and it showed high-water requirement.