Variación del número de semillas en frutos de diferentes especies leñosas nativas del Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract:The study of functional seeds traits allows us to increase our knowledge about seed ecology from tropical environments. The objective of the present investigation was to determine the variation in the number of seeds per fruit of woody species distributed in different plant formations from Ecuador. We investigated about 156 woody species, where the amount of seeds produced was determined between five and ten fruits per species. The results were related to the habit and habitat of the species, and to the type of fruit. High variation was found in the number of seeds per fruit among the species studied. Most species present only one seed per fruit. 16% of the species produce between 2 and 5 seeds; while only 12 species produce fruits that can contain more than 100 seeds. Wet ecosystem species produced a greater number of seeds per fruit than species of other ecosystems. We don't find relationship between the habitat and type of fruit with the number of seeds per fruit. Our results are a baseline for other studies in seed ecology and it is important information to seed collection program for conservation purposes.