Photo by --Tico-- licensed by CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

For any species to be considered successful, it must replace itself generation after generation. We call this process recruitment and it is very important. After all, reproduction is arguably the most fundamental aspect of life in a Darwinian sense. For plants, this can be done either vegetatively or sexually via seeds and spores. Though vegetative reproduction is a fundamental process for many plants around the globe, seed or spore germination is arguably the most important. To truly understand what a plant needs, we have to understand its germination requirements.

Recruitment is a considerable limiting factor for plant populations. In fact, it is the first major bottleneck plants must pass through. It is estimated that a majority of plant mortality occurs during the germination and seedling stages. However, not all plants are equal in this way. Some plants are considered seed or propagule limited whereas others are habitat limited.

If a plant is seed limited, it means that its ability to expand its population or colonize new habitats its limited by the ability of seeds (or spores) to make it to a new location. Once there, nature takes its course and germination occurs with little impediment. If a plant is habitat limited, however, things get a bit more tricky. For habitat limited plants, simply getting seeds to a new location is not enough. Some other aspect of the environment (soil moisture, texture, temperature, disturbance, etc.) limit successful germination. Only when the right conditions are present can habitat limited plants germinate and begin to grow.

Habitat limitation is probably the most common limit to plant establishment. Simply put, not all plants will be successful everywhere. Even the successful growth and persistence of adult plants can be poor predictors of seedling success. Many plants can live for decades or even centuries and the conditions that were present when they germinated may have long since changed. Even the presence of the adults themselves can make a site unsuitable for germination. Think of all of those fire adapted species out there that require the entire community to burn before their seeds will ever germinate.

In reality, it is likely that most plants are habitat limited to some degree. These are not binary categories after all, rather they are aligned along a spectrum of possibilities. The fact that most plants don’t completely take over an area once seeds or spores arrive is proof of the myriad limits to plant establishment. As such, recruitment limitation is extremely important to study. It can make a huge difference in the context of conservation and restoration. Even the successful establishment of adult plants is no guarantee that seedlings stand a chance. Without successful recruitment, all you have left is a nice garden that is doomed to run its course. By understanding the limits to plant recruitment, we can do much more than just improve on our ability to protect and bolster plant populations, we can also gain insights into why so many plants remain rare on the landscape and so few ever rise to dominance.

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Photo by Geir K. Edland licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Recruitment windows are any period of time in which seeds germinate and grow into young plants successfully. Needless to say, they are a crucial component of of any plants' life cycle. For some species, these windows are huge, allowing them ample opportunity for successful reproduction. For others, however, these windows are small and specific. Take for instance the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) of the American southwest. These arborescent cacti are famous the world over for their impressive stature. They are true survivors, magnificently adapted to their harsh, dry environment. This does not mean life is a cakewalk though. Survival, especially for seedlings, is measured by the slimmest of margins, with most saguaro dying in their first year.

Hot, dry days and freezing cold nights are not particularly favorable conditions for young cacti. As such, any favorable change in weather can lead to much higher rates of successful recruitment for a given year. Because of this, saguaro often grow up as cohorts that all took advantage of the same favorable conditions that tipped the odds in their favor. This creates an age pattern that researchers can then use to better understand the population dynamics of these cacti.

Recently, a researcher from York University noticed a particular pattern in the cacti she was studying. A large amount of the older cacti all dated back to the year 1884. What was so special about 1884, you ask? Certainly the climate must have been favorable. However, the real interesting part of this story is what happen the year before. 1883 saw the eruption of Krakatoa, a volcanic island located between Java and Sumatra. The eruption was massive, spewing tons of volcanic ash into the air. Effectively destroying the island, the eruption was so large that it was heard 1,930 miles away in western Australia.

The effects of the Krakatoa eruption were felt worldwide. Ash and other gases spewed into the atmosphere caused a chilling of the northern hemisphere. Records of that time show an overall cooling effect of more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit. In the American Southwest, this led to record rainfall from July 1883 to June 1884. The combination of higher than average rainfall and lower than average temperatures made for a banner year for saguaro cacti. Seedlings were able to get past that first year bottleneck. After that first year, saguaro are much more likely to survive the hardships of their habitat.

The Krakatoa eruption wasn't the only one with its own saguaro cohort. Further investigations have revealed similar patterns following the eruptions of Soufriere, Mt. Pelée, and Santa Maria in 1902, Ksudach in 1907, and Katmai in 1912. What this means is that conservation of species like the saguaro must take into account factors far beyond their immediate environment. Such patterns are likely not unique to saguaro either. The Earth functions as a biosphere and the lines we use to define the world around us can become quite blurry. If anything, this research underlines the importance of a system-based view. Nothing operates in a vacuum.

Photo Credit: Geir K. Edland