early growth stages of the rare acridocarpus orientalis in the uae—a first step towards conservation罕见的早期生长阶段acridocarpus胶uae-a保护的第一步.pdfVIP

Natural Resources, 2012, 3, 1-5 1 /10.4236/nr.2012.31001 Published Online March 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/nr) Early Growth Stages of the Rare Acridocarpus orientalis in the UAE—A First Step towards Conservation 1 2 1,3 Taoufik Ksiksi , Chedia Guenaoui , Nael Fawzi 1Biology Department, Faculty of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE; 2Arid Regions Institute, Medenine, Tuni- sia; 3Flora Phyto-Taxonomy Research Department, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt. Email: tksiksi@uaeu.ac.ae Received January 11th, 2012; revised February 14th, 2012; accepted February 25th, 2012 ABSTRACT The seed germination and seedling establishment of the rare Acridocarpus orientalis were investigated to understand its requirements for further seedlings establishment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an important first step in or- der to try to conserve the species and prevent its disappearance. The experiments were carried out in a greenhouse and in a laboratory under a temperature of about 25˚C ± 4˚C. Seeds were soaked in water or kept in cold conditions. A con- trol treatment was also included. Only a total of 9 seeds emerged during a period that exceeded eight months. Percent germination in the laboratory experiment reached a maximum of 32%, 75 days into the trial. The rate of seed mortality was 64%. It may be a problem of acclimation to the greenhouse environment. The results of this study showed that A. orientalis seeds were not dormant. About 32% of seeds germinated and all others were viable. Soaking seeds in water proved to be the best treatment for A. orientalis to emerge. Further investigations of the species germination and estab- lishment are needed in order to improve our chances of protecting A. orientalis in the wild. Keywords: Qafas; Seed Ge