Recruitment of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) in the fringing forests of the Myall Lakes, NSW, Australia
Anne Baumann A and Alison Hewitt
B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Anne Clements and Associates Pty Limited, Environmental and Botanical Consultants, PO Box 1623, North Sydney 2059, NSW, Australia.
B Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
Australian Journal of Botany 71(3) 127-145 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT22070
Submitted: 4 July 2022 Accepted: 10 March 2023 Published: 4 April 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: Melaleuca quinquenervia is a widespread, keystone species of eastern Australian coastal forested wetlands. Populations of M. quinquenervia in the fringes of Myall Lakes, New South Wales, Australia exhibit low numbers of juveniles, infrequent recruitment and a dominance of mature individuals, raising concerns about stand replacement from conservation managers. In contrast, M. quinquenervia often recruits in large numbers and is highly invasive in wetlands around the world.
Aims: To explore factors that limit recruitment of M. quinquenervia within its native range.
Methods: Field deployed seed traps; soil-core sampling; a burial longevity trial and depth of emergence experiment; laboratory temperature, salinity and light germination experiments; a transplantation experiment; monitoring of field germination; and a litter/leachate experiment.
Key results: Low seed viability (5–26%) is offset by high canopy seed loads (250 000 to 120 million seeds per tree) released continuously throughout the year with a peak fall in summer (2000 to 5000 viable seeds per m2 per month), coinciding with optimal germination temperatures. Seedling emergence is reduced below 5 mm soil depth, there is a very low soil seedbank reserve, and germination is light-dependant. M. quinquenervia exhibited reduced germination percentage and rate as well as reduced survival of seedlings at salinities higher than 15 dS m−1 EC (electrical conductivity). The most favourable sites for seedling establishment are permanently moist with low salinity, protected from wave action via sedge vegetation, and sheltered from prevailing winds. There is an inhibitory effect of Casuarina leachate on germination.
Conclusions: Germination in the field is episodic, and tied to specific environmental conditions. Highest losses occur at the seedling establishment phase.
Implications: Future research avenues and management recommendations are provided.
Keywords: allelopathy, Casuarina glauca, coastal communities, Melaleuca, salinity, seed germination, seedling growth, transplantation experiment, wetlands, viability.
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