Create your own conference schedule! Click here for full instructions

Abstract Detail



Getting everyone involved: Saving the seaside alder

Rice, Stanley [1].

How the seaside alder survives and how it doesn’t: Shade intolerance and seedling failure.

The seaside alder (Alnus maritima) has a relictual distribution. The ancestral species may have been widespread in North America during the most recent glacial retreat, when there were extensive areas of wet, sunny gravel, conditions that appear to be most conducive to alder germination. Today, however, most places that are wet enough for alder seed germination are too shady, and if they are sunny enough they are too dry. In contrast, the hazel alder (A. serrulata) is widespread in eastern North America. Both species of alders require bright light, as demonstrated by the way their branches lean out over the water. But seaside alders, in all three subspecies, are less shade tolerant. They are found more frequently in full sunlight than are hazel alders, and their shade leaves contain less chlorophyll per weight than do those of hazel alders. Field surveys suggest that seedling establishment is very rare, and no clear evidence has been found of seedling establishment past the first year. This species persists in the wild because of clonal re-sprouting.


Log in to add this item to your schedule

Related Links:
Article about seaside alder shade intolerance
Seaside alder has poor seedling establishment


1 - Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Biological Sciences, 425 W. University Blvd, Durant, OK, 74701-3347, USA

Keywords:
Alnus maritima
seaside alder
relictual species
shade tolerance.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY3, Getting everyone involved: Saving the seaside alder
Location: Fort Worth Ballroom 2/Omni Hotel
Date: Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: SY3003
Abstract ID:40
Candidate for Awards:None


Copyright © 2000-2017, Botanical Society of America. All rights reserved