Comportamiento durante el almacenamiento y longevidad potencial en semillas de cuatro especies de árboles nativos de Argentina

Trees of forest importance are a group of special interest for conservation actions due to their use value. To determine whether they can be conserved in seed banks, we studied the tolerance to desiccation and storage behaviour of four species from north-eastern Argentina: Handroanthus impetiginosus, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Neltuma alba y Pterogyne nitens. Desiccation tolerance was evaluated by decreasing the moisture content of the seeds to 4-5%. Storage behaviour was determined by storing dried seeds at -20, 5 and 20 °C for three, six and twelve months. The potential longevity of the seeds was estimated with an accelerated aging experiment. Response variable in all cases was the percentage of germinated seeds. The results indicated that the species have orthodox behaviour and can therefore be stored in seed banks. Throughout twelve months of storage the N. alba y P. nitens seeds remained dormant and had to be scarified to germinate. The potential longevity of the seeds allowed the species to be classified as short-lived (H. impetiginosus), intermediate-lived (J. mimosifolia y P. nitens), and long-lived (N. alba). The results will be useful to establish ex situ conservation strategies for these species, which should be complemented with in situ conservation actions.