Functional plant traits are used in ecology to explain population dynamics in time and space.
However, because the germination niche is an essential stage in alpine plant life cycles and …

Understanding the key aspects of plant regeneration from seeds is crucial in assessing
species assembly to their habitats. However, the regenerative traits of seed dormancy and …

Ongoing changes in temperature and precipitation regime may have a strong impact on
vulnerable life-history stages such as germination, especially in alpine regions. Differences …

Seed germination traits in alpine grasslands are poorly understood, despite the sensitivity of
these communities to climate change. We hypothesise that germination traits predict species …

Species distributions may be limited by substrate boundaries due to constraints at either the
germination or seedling establishment life history stages. In a community of alpine tundra …

Assumptions about the germination ecology of alpine plants are presently based on
individual species and local studies. A current challenge is to synthesise, at the global level …

Mesoscale heterogeneity of alpine landscapes generates snowmelt gradients resulting in a
distinct vegetation zonation from almost snow-free fellfields to long-lasting snowbeds …

Plant establishment and subsequent persistence are strongly influenced by germination
strategy, especially in temporally and spatially heterogeneous environments. Germination …

Abstract Changes in species composition during succession are driven by biotic and abiotic
factors leading to a multitude of niches occupied by distinct species. Gradient analyses of …

For most terrestrial plants, regeneration depends on the ability of seeds to germinate in the
most favourable climatic conditions. Understanding seed germination phenology is thus …