Seed Germination and Light Quality related data sets

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Light level is an environmental property monitored at LUQ. Light level, soil moisture, and temperature simultaneously increase after disturbance and may interact with the pulse of detritus to affect subsequent community and ecosystem changes. For example, increased light promotes the establishment of pioneer and shrub species, but the litter deposited by the hurricane inhibits the germination of these same species (Guzmán-Grajales & Walker 1991). (See LUQ lTER Proposal 2002 for mor details. )

The L-CENTURY predicts that light is the dominant regulator of NPP along the gradient (Wang 2001) and in LUQ LTER 3 we hypothesize that the observed change in litter production results from decreased light availability at the cloud line coupled with lower temperatures with elevation.

Seed germination of seven tree species in three red (660 nm) to far-red (730 nm) light environments were studied in 1995 to determine the germination success of a number of species in different light environments.