Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/121013
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Type: Journal article
Title: Plants, position and pollination: planting arrangement and pollination limitation in a revegetated eucalypt woodland
Author: McCallum, K.
Breed, M.F.
Lowe, A.
Paton, D.
Citation: Ecological Management and Restoration, 2019; 20(3):222-230
Publisher: Wiley
Issue Date: 2019
ISSN: 1442-7001
1442-8903
Statement of
Responsibility: 
Kimberly P. McCallum, Martin F. Breed, Andrew J. Lowe and David C. Paton
Abstract: The spatial arrangement of plants is a key determinant of pollination services in natural ecosystems. Despite this, plant arrangements are rarely considered an important characteristic of revegetated communities and this may be limiting successful pollination dynamics in these re‐created systems. We assessed if aggregated South Australian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon, F. Muell) had greater pollination success than more dispersed trees by measuring fruit set, seed production and germination in a revegetated eucalypt woodland. The proportion of buds that developed into fruit (fruit set) was similar between aggregated (five flowering Blue Gum within 30 m) and dispersed (no flowering Blue Gum within 30 m) trees (<14%). Aggregated and dispersed trees produced a similar number of seeds per fruit in 2015, when fewer trees flowered and those that flowered produced fewer flowers (ca 8 seeds/fruit). In 2016, when flowering was more abundant, aggregated trees produced more seeds per fruit than dispersed trees (12 seeds/fruit compared to 4 seeds/fruit). Despite differences in seed number, there was no difference in the quality of seed produced, indicating outcrossed pollen was received by both aggregated and dispersed trees. Although outcrossing was likely, this did not prevent pollination limitation, with the addition of outcrossed pollen increasing fruit and seed set for trees in both arrangements. Consequently, we propose that planting individuals of the same species (conspecifics) in clumps, rather than intermixing species, can increase seed set in revegetated eucalypts, particularly in good flowering years. However, aggregated plantings will be most effective if the needs and foraging behaviour of pollinators are also considered, to attract and sustain pollinators in revegetated systems, thereby minimizing the risk of pollination limitation.
Keywords: Aggregation; flowering; plant spatial pattern; restoration; revegetation design; seed production
Rights: © 2019 Ecological Society of Australia and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
DOI: 10.1111/emr.12382
Grant ID: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE150100542
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150103414
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/emr.12382
Appears in Collections:Aurora harvest 8
Ecology, Evolution and Landscape Science publications

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