Seed germination prediction ofSalvia limbataunder ecological stresses in protected areas: an artificial intelligence modeling approach

Background Salviais a large, diverse, and polymorphous genus of the family Lamiaceae, comprising about 900 ornamentals, medicinal species with almost cosmopolitan distribution in the world. The success ofSalvia limbataseed germination depends on a numerous ecological factors and stresses. We aimed to analyzeSalvia limbataseed germination under four ecological stresses of salinity, drought, temperature and pH, with application of artificial intelligence modeling techniques such as MLR (Multiple Linear Regression), and MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron). TheS.limbataseeds germination was tested in different combinations of abiotic conditions. Five different temperatures of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 degrees C, seven drought treatments of 0, -2, -4, -6, -8, -10 and -12 bars, eight treatments of salinity containing 0, 50, 100.150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 mM of NaCl, and six pH treatments of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were tested. Indeed 228 combinations were tested to determine the percentage of germination for model development. Results Comparing to the MLR, the MLP model represents the significant value of R(2)in training (0.95), validation (0.92) and test data sets (0.93). According to the results of sensitivity analysis, the values of drought, salinity, pH and temperature are respectively known as the most significant variables influencingS. limbataseed germination. Areas with high moisture content and low salinity in the soil have a high potential to seed germination ofS. limbata. Also, the temperature of 18.3 degrees C and pH of 7.7 are proposed for achieving the maximum number of germinatedS. limbataseeds. Conclusions Multilayer perceptron model helps managers to determine the success ofS.limbataseed planting in agricultural or natural ecosystems. The designed graphical user interface is an environmental decision support system tool for agriculture or rangeland managers to predict the success ofS.limbataseed germination (percentage) in different ecological constraints of lands.