Data from: How are phenologies of ripening and seed release affected by species’ ecology and evolution?

The phenology of seed ripening and release are important for dispersal, reproductive success and survival of plants. Most phenological studies, however, consider early phenological phases. Here, we examined the ecological and evolutionary basis of ripening and seed release phenology. We monitored single flower phenology for 104 plant species from 30 families and three life forms from central Europe. Further, we undertook an associate monitoring study along an elevational gradient over two years. We calculated temperature demands (as growing degree days) for ripening and seed release and examined them with respect to the species' seed mass, life form, dispersal mode and phylogeny. We found a strong correlation between species' seed mass and temperature demands for ripening. For both variables seed mass and temperature demands for seed ripening, we found a strong effect of the species phylogeny. These phylogenetic signals strongly indicate that the evolutionary history of the species' lineage affects its seed mass and the temperature demands for seed ripening. Among the studied life forms, shrub species showed the most efficient ripening process. Anemochorous species showed lower relative humidity during seed release than epizoochorous species. For anemochorous species, the synchronisation of release timing with periods that show favourable environmental conditions for wind dispersal could be interpreted as a phenological adaptation to increase dispersal distances. According to the monitoring along the elevational gradient, individuals from higher altitudes showed lower temperature demands for ripening than individuals from lower altitudes. This might tentatively indicate physiological adaptations to lower temperature demands for locations with a shorter growing season. Our study provides basic insights into the ecological, environmental and evolutionary constraints that shape the ripening and seed release phenology of plants. We introduce data that can be used to advance existing models of ripening phenology, seed release and plant spread.

种子成熟与脱落的物候学特征，对于植物的扩散、繁殖成功与生存至关重要。然而，绝大多数物候学研究仅关注早期物候阶段。本研究旨在揭示种子成熟与脱落物候的生态学与进化学基础。我们针对中欧地区30科、3种生活型的104种植物，监测了单花物候动态；此外，本研究还在两年时间内沿海拔梯度开展了配套监测工作。我们计算了种子成熟与脱落所需的温度需求（以生长度日growing degree days为单位），并结合物种的种子质量、生活型、扩散模式与系统发育背景对其展开分析。研究发现，物种的种子质量与种子成熟所需的温度需求之间存在显著相关性。就种子质量与种子成熟温度需求这两个变量而言，物种的系统发育背景均对其产生了显著影响。这些系统发育信号有力表明，物种谱系的进化历史会对其种子质量与种子成熟所需的温度需求产生调控作用。在本次研究涉及的生活型中，灌木类植物展现出了最为高效的成熟进程。风力扩散物种在种子脱落时的相对湿度低于体外动物传播物种。对于风力扩散物种而言，脱落时间与利于风力扩散的环境时段相匹配的现象，可被视为一种为提升扩散距离而演化出的物候适应策略。基于沿海拔梯度的监测结果，高海拔地区的植物个体相较于低海拔个体，其种子成熟所需的温度需求更低。这一结果或初步表明，针对生长季更短的高海拔生境，植物演化出了降低温度需求的生理适应机制。本研究揭示了塑造植物种子成熟与脱落物候的生态学、环境学与进化学限制因素，为相关领域提供了基础认知；同时本研究所提供的数据，可用于优化现有的成熟物候、种子脱落与植物扩散相关模型。