TITLE:
Moss Propagules Banks in a Secondary Subtropical Moist Forest in Puerto Rico: A First Description
AUTHORS:
Carlos J. Pasiche-Lisboa, Inés Sastre-De Jesús
KEYWORDS:
Bryophytes; Soil Propagule Banks; Neotropical Forest; Propagule Survival
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.9,
April
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: A bryophyte propagule bank serves as a source for population maintenance
and survival, and many factors can influence these propagules’ germination.
However, it is unknown how soil depths affect propagules banks, their diversity
and abundance overtime in a Neotropical forest. To understand such a paradigm,
soil samples were obtained from different depths (0 - 5 cm, 5 - 10 cm, and 10 -
15 cm) at Guajataca State Forest, Puerto Rico; then, they were transferred to
the laboratory, cultured, and the amount of gametophytes from propagules
present over a seven-month period were measured. Forest soil depth did affect
the density of gametophytes. Gametophytes densities augmented overtime for almost all species. Two species mainly influenced the
propagule production over time. Also, propagules can have a long-term
germination potential for some species.