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Seedling Recruitment

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Reproductive Ecology of Flowering Plants: A Manual

Abstract

The stability of any species in its natural habitat is dependent on its optimal reproduction and recruitment of new individuals to sustain populations. Seedling recruitment is the ultimate step in a series of sequential events involved in successful reproduction of a species. Although habitat degradation, overexploitation and climate change are the proximate causes for vulnerability of the species, the ultimate driving force that pushes the species to endangered category and eventual extinction is reproductive constraint in the species induced by proximate causes. Because of these constraints, plant species are unable to produce optimal number of seeds and recruit new individuals to sustain populations. The following are the major steps involved in seedling recruitment that affect recruitment success:

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    K. R. Shivanna

  2. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Rajesh Tandon

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  1. K. R. Shivanna
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  2. Rajesh Tandon
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Shivanna, K.R., Tandon, R. (2014). Seedling Recruitment. In: Reproductive Ecology of Flowering Plants: A Manual. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2003-9_12

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