Format: ORAL

Zhao-Jun Bu1,2, Jia-Qi Zhang1,2

1 Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geo-graphical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Renmin 5268, Changchun 130024, China; 2 State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Institute for Peat and Mire Research, Northeast Normal University, Renmin 5268, Changchun 130024, China.

Elevation can strongly influence the vitality and longevity of sexual propagules (seeds and spores) of mountain plants. Germination behavior of sexual propagules at a certain elevation can vary with microhabitats. To date, little is known about how elevation and microhabitat differences in peatland ecosystems affect the germination and longevity of Sphagnum (peat mosses) spores. Here, we selected five peatlands in the Changbai Mountains along an elevation gradient (562-1472 m.a.s.l.) and conducted a three-year burial experiment with spores of four Sphagnum species. Our aim was to explore the effects of elevation and microhabitat on the germinability, dormancy percentage, and longevity of Sphagnum spores. We found that intermediate elevations were favorable for the germination of Sphagnum spores but unfavorable for dormancy maintenance and spore bank formation. Overall, Sphagnum spores had greater longevity in hollow microhabitats at low elevations and in hummock microhabitats at high elevations. Correlation analysis showed that spore germination of hollow species was more sensitive to temperature change than that of hummock species, with S. squarrosum demonstrating the clearest response to both temperature and precipitation changes. Our study suggests that elevation and habitat may interactively affect spore germinability and persistence of spore banks in peatlands. This highlights the importance of considering the difference of both elevation and microhabitat in vegetation restoration by using spore banks in degraded peatlands in the future.