Post-dispersal fate of seeds in the Monte desert of Argentina: patterns of germination in successive wet and dry years

1 Patterns of seed germination of grass and forb species were studied in open Prosopis woodland of the central Monte desert (Argentina) during several years, to test the hypotheses that (i) seed germination is positively affected by both rainfall and protection afforded by vegetation cover (a facilitative effect), (ii) the number of surviving plants is positively influenced by rainfall but negatively affected by established vegetation (a competitive effect), and (iii) seed loss from soil banks owing to germination is lower than that caused by granivorous animals. 2 Forb species germinated during restricted periods, either in early autumn or in spring. Grasses, however, germinated throughout the growing season, but because seedlings could not be identified to species level, it was impossible to discern whether different species germinated in particular seasons, or if all grasses germinated in all seasons. Grass and forb germination were generally of similar magnitude, but grass germination increased by an order of magnitude during a summer of unusually abundant rainfall related to an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. 3 Overall, the spatial distribution of neither germinating seeds nor surviving plants could be explained by interactions with established vegetation (facilitation and competition effects, respectively). An alternative explanation may be provided by the distribution of forb and grass seeds in the soil. 4 Seed loss owing to germination was low in both dry and rainy years. For forbs, such loss totalled < 1% of soil-seed reserves, and no forb species suffered losses > 4%. Total grass-seed loss to germination was usually < 0.5%, and the 5% reached in 1997-98 corresponded to an interruption of a prolonged drought by unusually abundant rainfall associated with a reduced seed bank. 5 Grass-seed loss caused by germination was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that reported due to autumn-winter granivory in the central Monte desert.