Ecofisiología de la germinación de Acaena elongata (Rosaceae), una especie indicadora de perturbación de un bosque templado, al sur de la Ciudad de México

The increase of anthropic activities in forest ecosystems has modified their environmental conditions and therefore their species composition. Species that endure these changes inhabit disturbed sites, as is the case of Acaena elongata in the fir forest in the Magdalena river basin, south of Mexico City. With the aim to explore the relationship between the high abundance of this species with the decrease in forest cover we compared the germination between seeds: 1) scarified and non-scarified in sites with different canopy covers, 2) with different storing ages (2 and 13 months), and 3) set to germinate under different light conditions (white, red, far red) and darkness, in germination chambers. Results showed that i) scarification favored significantly germination, ii) germination was indifferent to light, and iii) a year of storing did not reduce significantly their germination. This species is successful colonizing perturbed environments since it germinates under different light environments created by different canopy covers in the forest, with discontinuous germination along time.